I'll Be There For You
by Carlos'sCupcake
Summary: Anna is stuck in a bad relationship, but what happens when she runs into an old friend who wants to help? Will she let him or will she run away?
1. Chapter 1

I check for the tenth time to be certain he's sleeping, with him you can never be sure. The loud consistent snores haven't ceased one time while I've stared at the neon greeen numbers on the alarm clock, which inform me that it's 2:07 a.m. This confirms that it's been four hours since he was ready for bed, two hundred and forty seven minutes that I've been tossing and turning trying to sleep. Once again, sleep is eluding me. It's a weird thing; most people sleep to rest their tired bodies, I do it to escape the horrific life (if that's what you can even call it) that I'm living in. I hold my breath and sneak out of the bed, being as quiet as possible so as not to wake the sleeping beast, it would only enrage him. Wearing only a tank and gray sweats, I grab my hoodie from it's resting place on the back of the chair and tip-toe down the stairs to the foyer, where I slide my feet into my slip-ons and then silently slip out the front door.

I feel ecstatic as the fresh air hits my face. It's been three days since I've been allowed out, so it's an unfamiliar feeling to my lungs, making me almost breathless. My mind drifts away as my feet carry me along and before I know it I'm walking through my old neighborhood. Everything looks different somehow, though it's only been a little over two years since I've been here. _A lot can change in two years,_ I think as I cross the dark street to the next block, avoiding Jefferson Street at all costs. My family moved here to L.A. on Jefferson Street four years ago. I was seventeen at the time and a junior in school. We moved from Colorado to California and I was pretty nervous. My wise mom had told me that it was perfectly normal to feel like that, and she was right. It all worked out, I made new friends and quickly fell in love with L.A., especially the beach.

That was back when I was bubbly, confident, positive, and full of ambition. Unfortunately that was taken away from me two years ago when my parents were killed suddenly in a car accident. The wonderful world I was living in quickly spun off of it's axis and I fell into that downward spiral of depression. I have family scattered across the U.S. who offerred for me to come live with them but I politely declined, not wanting to leave Cali. Losing your parents is never easy, and as an only child I felt extremely lonely, even with the mass amount of friends I have. Or _had_ rather. A week after I buried my parents, I met Justin at a party my best friend Jessica had dragged me along to. He was good looking, charming, funny, and he was easy to talk to; we ended up chatting the whole night away until the sun came up.

I had never met anyone like Justin before, he seemed so worldly and wise beyond his years. Within two days I spent the night with him and hadn't went back to my parent's house since then. The pain of losing them was overwhelming and Justin became my escape, my vice. By this time I was infatuated; hanging onto every word he spoke and desperate to spend every waking minute with him. Which is why I had no qualms about taking a hit off the joint when he offered it to me. Yeah at the age of nineteen I was filled with the knowledge that it's illegal and the damage it does to your body, but I wanted to impress Justin so I smoked with him. I didn't particularly like it and he never pushed it on me again after that, but he did continue to smoke it on a regular basis. It wasn't the marijuana that bothered me, but the alcohol. I was oblivious at first, too blinded by his facade that I didn't notice the amount of time he spends drinking which is from the second he gets home from work until he passes out in a drunken stupor.

I didn't need to work, I was living off the money I inherited from my parent's death. I was caught up acting as a housewife to Justin. It wasn't long before I noticed a change in his attitude. It started off with comments about my cooking and my weight. And mentions about my friends. He made me cut off all contact with them. Then, faster than I could blink my eyes, it snowballed into name calling, little shoves, and light hitting. Now it's like I can't do anything right. Any and everything sets him off, nothing appeases him. Daily beatings are a routine. Hitting, slapping, punching, kicking, hair pulling. No action or body part is off limits.

I'm not even allowed to leave the house by myself unless it's for grocery shopping, paying bills, or buying his precious booze. And when I do leave, I get a time limit. If I'm not back within his likeliness, I get a beating. Actually I hate leaving the house because it's almost always warm and sunny here in L.A. and I have to wear long sleeved shirts and pants to hide my bruises. Not to mention the layers of make-up I have to cake my face with. Make up is strictly forbidden for me unless I have to go out. According to him I have to hide everything because if anyone were to see what's going on or catch wind of it, he would beat me to a bloody pulp. I've been close to that before, and I live with the monster, I'm quite aware of what he's capable of.

Day by day I lost a piece of myself, until I dwindled down to what I am now. Walking along these streets I don't know who I am. Justin has stolen my identity, claiming me as his woman. I've been put here to clean his house, cook, do laundry, and whatever else is asked of me. The worst part though is when he wants sex. I'm a woman and I'm supposed to please him anytime he wants. Justin's the first guy I've ever loved and he took my virginity. I've always heard it's painful but I never imagined exactly how much it would hurt. Needless to say, our lovemaking isn't gentle or loving in any way. I don't understand how people can enjoy it or get pleasure from it. I cringe everytime he touches me, laying with my teeth clenched while he's rough and does what he needs to get off. I always feel dirty when it's over. So why do I stay with him? Because doing all of these things gives me a sense of purpose. I've come to accept this as my life.

I come to the little park at the end of the cul-de-sac and sit on a swing to rest my legs. A few minutes go by and soon I'm pumping my legs as my mind runs rampant with memories of how I used to be before my world turned so black. I had so many good times here at this very park and I feel my lips curve up into a tiny smile for the first time in I don't even know how long. Enjoying this carefree feeling, I lose all sense of space and time, swinging until I hear someone call my name. I'm paralyzed by fear, too afraid to turn around, and on instinct my body tenses up. With my head down, I watch the woodchips pass by with each swing until I'm eventually stopped. My heart lurches into my throat when I hear the footsteps getting closer. "Anna", the male voice calls my name again, and my breath comes whooshing out with relief.

The voice doesn't belong to Justin but it does sound familiar. Shyly, I raise my head up the tall frame until it meets with a face. The long blonde hair and face with the piercing green eyes is familiar. He is Kendall Knight, someone who used to be like a second best friend to me. I met him at a bonfire a week after I moved here and we hit it off right away as friends. I was easily attracted to his laid back personality and the fact that we're both into skateboarding was a total dominator for our friendship. I developed a bit of a crush on him at some point, but we had always kept things platonic. I was like another one of the boys to him, and I was always cool with that. Just like everyone else, our friendship ended when I got mixed up with Justin.

Quickly, I duck my head back down before he can see my face. The last check I had in the mirror was before bed, and at that time my lip was still bleeding and new black and blue bruises had been developing around my left eye and over my cheek. Faded purple and greenish bruises decorate several parts of my face and are sporadically spread out over my body. "Umm, hi Kendall", I say meekly. I wasn't expecting to run into anyone out here in the middle of the night, least of all an old friend.

I sneak a quick glance up and see his hands disappear into his pockets. "So how are you?", he asks.

"I'm good", I speak the lie that's been instilled in my head by Justin when people ask me that very question.

"So where are you living now? Haven't seen or heard from you in a while".

I shrug and tell him the harsh truth. I live around here. Just stick to myself these days. How about you?"

"Ahhh you know, same old same old. Recording, practice, tours. The norm for someone in a music group."

"Yeah", I nod my head and everything falls silent. I gather the courage to look up at my friend when I realize the sun is coming up on the horizon. Terror creeps into my bones and I leap from the swing like a jack rabbit. Keeping my head turned away so he can't see my face, I feed him another dishonest answer. "I gotta go. I didn't realize it was this late and I have to get ready for work". I don't wait for a response before I start jogging away.

Behind me I hear him call out, "Maybe I'll see you around". I bust out into a full on run, pushing my legs as fast as they'll take me, hoping against all hope that I'll be able to get back and sneak in before Justin wakes up.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Okay, so first and foremost, I want to say that I was so excited to post the first chapter that an author's note totally slipped my mind. So I'm making up for that now. *clears throat* I'm writing this story for a very special person. She is one of the strongest people that I have ever known, hands down and I am proud of her every single day. We may not talk like we used to, but I think about her and wonder how she's doing...with our busy lives it's not always easy to keep up with things, but just know that I care about you Anna! *HUG* **

**I want to take a minute here as well to talk about domestic violence. If any of you reading this are being abused by anyone, whether's it's your family, someone older you're afraid of, or even a boyfriend/girlfriend...IT'S NOT OKAY. At the risk of sounding like a cheezy, sappy commercial, no one deserves to be abused, beat, hit, whatever you wanna call it, you don't deserve it and don't ever let them make you feel like it's your fault. People who abuse other people are sick, it's all about being in control. *Gets off soap-box* I understand that this story may have details that are hard to talk/think/read about, but it's a real situation that happens everyday. No, the whole story isn't going to be dark, things are solemn now, but i'm trying to keep it as real as possible, because sadly nobody's life is a fairy tale! And for those of you who are reading this and have left reviews, I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart, each review is appreciated and provides great motivation, so THANK YOU! And starting with the next chapter, I will be doing SHOUT OUTS for all the reviewers! And now, without further ado, let's do this! XD**

**Anna's POV**

I'm almost completely out of breath by the time I make it to my street, but I don't stop. Pushing my legs faster and ignoring the burning in my lungs, I keep going until I'm at the front door. Nervousness instantly creeps in, and I feel nauseous. I pause a moment, silently praying that Justin's still asleep before sneaking back inside the door, sliding the lock back into place, and quietly kicking my shoes off. I tip-toe to the refrigerator and grab a bottle of water to quench my thirst, then lean against the back of the refrigerator to catch my breath.

The alarm clock from upstairs starts going off, making me almost jump out of my skin. I stand up straight and frantically search my mind for an excuse of why I'm not in bed. I hear Justin turn the alarm off and start calling my name. "Anna". The sounds of his feet shuffling over the floor fill my ears and cease at the top of the stairs. "Anna", he calls again, sharply. I freeze in my tracks, wondering what his next move is gonna be; this is the first time this has ever happened.

Through the blood pounding in my ears I don't hear any movements. "I'm down here. I couldn't sleep so I got up to watch t.v.", I respond with a shaky voice.

"Yeah okay", he mutters and I hear his footsteps lead towards the bathroom. I let out a sigh of relief and cross the kitchen to make his coffee and fix his lunch for work. The good thing about mornings is that Justin usually doesn't pick on me. Things run pretty smoothly and sometimes he's actually nice to me, which is a big change from his nightime behavior. But then again, that's only when alcohol is absent from his system. Every morning when the alarm goes off, Justin wakes up, showers, and then he's out the door.

Once I have his stuff all ready and waiting for him to snag it off the counter, I go to the living room and turn the t.v on, pretending to watch the news until he comes bounding down the steps. I feel his eyes boring into my skin as he looks me over on the couch. He walks closer until he's right in front of me, but I keep my head down, afraid to look at him. Justin pulls my face up to inspect it. I force myself to be still as his finger runs over the bruise on my cheek. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to stop, I promise", he says softly. I avoid looking at him, I've since learned these promises are hollow. At first I used to believe him but after all this time I've come to know that he never means it, and as soon as he's home from work and drinking beer, it all goes back downhill. His excuse is always the same, "I've had a bad day at work". I shudder and feel my stomach churn when I feel his lips on my cheek. "I'll see you later. Maybe we'll go out to dinner this weekend or something", he tells me over his shoulder as he walks away.

"Okay", I mumble knowing that this is just another lie, another one of his empty promises. His footsteps go through the kitchen where he stops to get his stuff from the counter, then he proceeds to walk out the front door. I'm finally able to relax when I hear his truck back out of the driveway, and I let out a long breath as I take my hoodie off and stretch my legs out on the couch. Sometimes when he leaves, I think about running away. I daydream about a happy life where I can be free, and go out in the warm sunshine without bruises or scars marring my body. I could have friends again, and be normal. But it simply isn't to be. So why don't I run away? One powerful four lettered word stands in the way: FEAR. Justin told me that if I love him, I'll never leave him. And that if I do, he will find me and make me sorry that I ever ran away. There is not one ounce of doubt in my mind that he would do this. So for now, I'm stuck. Although I do have those days I wonder why I don't at least try. Wouldn't it be worth a chance? Would having him kill me be better than living this sad existence of a life? I let my thoughts drift away until I fall asleep.

When I wake up, I throw a load of clothes in the washer and take a shower to get ready to run out and pick up some groceries. After getting dressed into a pair of jeans and a tank top, I cake my face with foundation followed by powder, and then I apply a bit of blush and some mascara. I comb my dark brown, mid-back length hair and let it air dry into the natural waves. Once I'm all ready, I take a hoodie from the closet and toss it on, pulling the hood up over my hair and grabbing my keys from their hook by the door.

Half an hour later, I'm strolling through the aisles when I hear a female voice call my name. "Anna?" I look up to see two of my old friends standing there, Jessica and Mandy.

"Oh my goodness, I haven't seen you in like forever", Mandy gushes.

"Yeah it's like you disappeared off the face of the earth and totally dropped everyone", Jessica states. It's hard to look at her and see the hurt in her eyes, she was my best friend and I abandoned her.

Feeling like a deer caught in headlights as they wait for a response from me, all I can think about is what if they _know_. In a panic, I point to the ice cream in my cart and say, "This is starting to melt", and I walk away as fast as I can. I feel their eyes burning a hole in my back but I keep on moving, where I call off the rest of my shopping and pay for the few items that are already in my cart and bolt out of there as soon as I'm done checking out.

...

Another week passes before I gather up the courage to sneak out again. There's just something that's been pulling at me, whispering my name as I lay tossing and turning in bed at night. Finally I give into it and as before, I slip out of the bed and tip-toe through the house undetected before stepping out onto the porch. I did manage to grab a sweatshirt and my watch off the dresser as I passed, so at least this time I can keep an eye on the time. The cool night air hits my skin and I take in the first gulp, filling my lungs and nostrils with fresh oxygen, and I must admit it feels absolutely liberating. The darkness hides my bruises and scars, at last I can be outside and not have to worry about covering anything up.

Putting one foot in front of the other, I start walking down the sidewalk, no specific destination in sight. Just like last time, I end up at the little park at the end of the cul-de-sac of my old neighborhood again. The air has gotten cooler so I put my sweatshirt on and look around the playground that's barely lit by street lamps. There's two slides, one regular and one swirly. A merry-go-round, jungle gym bars, a see-saw, and swings also adorn the area. I make my way over to the merry go-round and lay down, my back against the chilled metal, letting my mind run free. What would I have ended up doing if I didn't meet Justin after my parents passed away? I was just getting ready to enroll in college, but that chance passed me by like so many other things in the past two years of my so-called life. I was undecided on a specific subject to study, but I had wanted it to do something with nature. As a kid, and even as a teenager I adored being outdoors. I could be a girly-girl, but I was also a tom-boy.

I hadn't realized I was lost in my thoughts until I heard the sound of woodchips crunching underneath of someone's feet as they walked. I spring up to a sitting position and bring my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around my legs as I watch a figure coming closer to me in the blackness. I make out the shadow as Kendall as he gets even closer and soon he spots me. "Anna", he greets me. "Hey".

"Hi Kendall", I respond. The tall blonde sits on the edge of the merry-go round.

"So how are you? And if you don't mind me asking, what brings you out here in the middle of the night?", he asks.

I shrug and reply sheepishly, "Insomnia".

"Ahhh", he shakes his head. "I totally understand. I'm quite the insomniac myself. Plus there's just something peaceful about nighttime. I don't know, I can't explain it."

"Yeah", I sigh and relax, sliding my legs down until I'm sitting criss-cross applesauce.

Kendall pulls his legs up so he's sitting fully as well, and turns his whole body so he's facing me. An awkward minute of silence goes by before he starts talking again. "We had a lot of good times here didn't we?" I don't have to look at his face, I can hear the smile in his voice.

"Yeah", I say and shoot him a tiny smile of my own. I let some memories play through my head like an old movie and feel my lips turn up into a smile of their own. Many nights when we had nothing to do, a bunch of us would just come here and hang out, doing nothing in particular, but those seemed like the days. I had spend some nights as a teenager out here on my own, wondering if Kendall ever thought of me as more than a friend. I don't know if it was crazy teenage hormones or what, but I had developed a major crush on Kendall. He's just so charming and handsome. His dirty blonde hair hangs down just above the tips of his eyebrows and he has a dimple in his left cheek, and his eyes are the most mesemerizing shade of green I've ever seen. He's skinny, but not scrawny. Lots of times I'd seen him shirtless as we went swimming or hung out playing hockey in the cul-de-sac, or even times when were skateboarding. I'd never told Kendall those feelings I had for him though, our friendship meant the world to me. But as a silly teenage girl often does, I wrote about him in my journal and spent my fair share of time daydreaming what it would be like to be kissed by those pink pouty lips of his.

"So umm Jessica and Mandy told me they saw you in the store today-or is it yesterday. Whatever", he says with a chuckle, obviously trying to make conversation.

"Mm-hmm. Just picking up some food", I say dryly.

"So what are you doing these days? Seeing anybody?"

I give him a good look over, and man has he changed. My heart skips a beat at his rugged look, he's got stubble all over his chin and just a bit above his top lip. He's filled out quite well, all traces of a boy have disappeared into a man. Tilting my head so I'm looking down at my legs, I begin to fidget nervously with my hands. "I live with Justin Gotye. I met him just after my parents...you know", I reply.

"What!", Kendall half yells making me jump. "I've only heard bad things about him. He's strung out on drugs and abuses women."

I shake my head. "He doesn't do drugs." I don't even know why I'm trying to defend Justin. Speaking of Justin, I notice I haven't checked the time in a while so I pull my watch from the pocket of my sweatshirt and check the time. It's 5:30, and Justin's alarm goes off at 6:00.

"Do you still skate?", Kendall inquires.

"No", I tell him and pull myself up to my feet. "But it's getting late, I need to be getting home."

The tall man comes to his feet as well and I take the few steps until I'm at the rim and hop down onto the ground. "Okay. Well will I see you around?" Suddenly I see something coming towards me out of the corner of my eye, and I flinch and feel my body tense as I take a quick step back. "I was just gonna hug you. I miss you.", Kendall says apologetically and drops his arms. He looks at me long and hard.

I realize my mistake and try to cover it up with a lie. "Sorry I just...", but I can't think of anything.

"Hey umm, let me give you my number so we can get together sometime", he interjects.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Bye", I call out and begin to jog away, back to the place that has become my prison.


	3. Chapter 3

**And we have another chapter peeps! I want to give a thank you to all yoy lovely reviewers, you totally rock my world! XD So THANK YOU! SHOUT OUTS- Logan's Honey Pie- yea bring the drama! I've heard of the Julia Roberts movie but am unsure of the Jennifer Lopez one, but i guess we'll have to wait and see if Kendall can get her out of the situation or not XD dudeamanda- well thank you and I'm so glad you're enjoying it XD 8412- thank you, i try my best XD BigTimeStarKid1- yes Justin is a terrible, terrible person. I'm glad you like the plot i mean it's different from all my others, but it's still gonna be good! You know I meant every word i wrote in that author's note, and you totally deserve it girl! I just hope this story can be what you want it to be *hug* XD Isn't she lovely- i'm really hoping for this to be another good one, thank you! I don't have the whole story planned out, but we'll see how it goes XD annabellex2- thank you, i'm doing the best i can with updates, as i'm writing two other stories at the same time! XD Boysboysboys love em- Ha Tori, girl i know, this is totally out of my ballpark but thank you so much as always for your awesome review! And Kendall will NEVER stop being so nice and adorable! BTW, i totally love ur new winky face, it's cute! And YES it is so sad that many women find themselves too afraid to get out the situation :( XD KillMeWithWords- awww shucks, that was super sweet of you to say! I will keep writing, don't you worry about that! XD FangedCutie- yes it is quite intense huh? i find myself having a hard time not adding something bubbly or cheerful into it because it is so my personality, but well it's different but I'm confident it will turn out well. And like i said with Tori, it is so sad that many women are too afraid to get out of their unfortunate situation. Ha you are so sweet, and yano what? If i really thought I had the time and patience to write a book, I would totally try it, but for now i'm good with fanfictions! XD**

**Kendall's POV**

It's a spur of the moment thing when I park my car next to the curb and walk up the sidewalk to the house that I followed Anna to a few days ago when she ran away from the park again. I check the number on the mailbox to be sure it was the same as the one I remembered from the other morning, and it matches so I stroll up the driveway and to the door where I ring the buzzer. It's a Saturday, the first free day I've had in a while and I was curious to see Anna; maybe we could hang out or something. I mean I know she and Justin are together but two old friends can hang out right?

I hear someone come to other side of the large wooden door and it comes open. I'm not prepared for the sight that meets me; several black, blue, purple, and green bruises adorn Anna's face and the skin of her arms not covered by her t-shirt. I feel my heart stop and Anna's eyes get BIG when she sees me and a horrified look paints her face. "Oh my God!", I exclaim. "What happened?"

Her long hair sways back and forth as she shakes her head ferociously back and forth and puts a finger to her lips in a shushing motion. "Shhh, please be quiet. You have to leave Kendall. Now!", she whispers hurriedly.

"Who is it?", a deep male voice calls out from somewhere inside the house.

"Did Justin-does he-", but I'm cut off by her hand pushing at my chest and her green eyes wildly darting around at the sound of heavy footsteps descending a set of stairs.

"Go! Just go okay? He can't see you here", she tells me through clenched teeth.

"Are you kidding? I can't leave you here!" I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, not knowing what to do.

"Please", she pleads and swallows hard.

"I'm leaving here and going straight to the police"

"NO! You can't do that!", a look of panic crosses her face.

I search my mind frantically for something, anything. I close my eyes and say the only thing I can think of. "I-I can't not. Only if you meet me at the park tonight", I insist. The footsteps grow closer and Anna starts trembling.

"I-I'll try". As soon as the words leave her mouth Justin comes to stand next to her. I see her flinch and tense up as his arm comes around her waist.

"Well what do we have here?", the brunette man asks.

"Umm-he-", Anna stammers but only looks down at her feet.

It's pretty obvious Justin is what she's afraid of, so to protect my friend I say the first thing that comes to my mind. "I'm a travelling salesman, going door to door to see if you wanted to buy a set of Encyclopedias." I shove my clenched hands into my pockets to keep myself from grabbing the snake by his shirt and decking him in the face.

He smiles innocently and turns his face up to one side like he's actually thinking before he responds, "No thank you, we're not interested."

"Okay, well thank you and have a nice day", I say in the nicest manner I possibly can.

"Yeah, you too", the man says and closes the door. Pulling my hands out of my pockets, I run my fingers through my hair and then down my face, before reluctantly and mostly against my will walking back to my car.

...

**Anna's POV**

This third time I sneak out is exactly like the other times, except for Justin doesn't have to work in the morning so I'm hoping his drunken slumber lasts longer than usual. I almost decided not to go, afraid of the possibility of getting caught, but I can't have Kendall running to the police. So here I am, taking my chances. I hear the sound of someone strumming a guitar as I near the park and see Kendall sitting on the edge of the merry go-round playing his six string. His eyes are closed and he sings, his voice is as close to perfection as I've ever heard. My eyes admire the handsome features of his face as he pours his soul into what he's playing, and I realize that my old 'high school crush' on him still lingers. I make my way quietly not to disturb him and sit a few feet away from him.

As if he senses my presence, he opens his eyes and puts the guitar down. He looks me over for a minute, the reflection in his eyes and long sigh he emits tell me that he disapproves of what he sees. His finger slowly makes it's way to my swollen lip, when it touches the sensitive flesh I wince. "Does it hurt?", he asks softly, dropping his hand back into his lap. My busted lip and daily dose f abuse was a result of his food being too hot and burning his tongue when he took a bite of his spaghetti.

"Not much", I say and shake my head.

"You need to leave him."

The emotion in his eyes is too much, I move my gaze from his face. "It's not that easy, you don't understand Kendall."

He jumps back and begins pacing back and forth, running his hands wildly through his hair. I just watch in shock until he turns around and his voice rises and grows angry as he rants. "You're damn right I don't understand, Anna. I have absolutely no fucking idea how that bastard could put his hands on you. Or any man for that matter, or any woman. I'm beyond pissed off." His tall figure looms back over to where I am. I see him looking at me, waiting for me to reply but what can I say? He's a little calmer now as he continues, "I mean, what would your parents think? Do you think they'd be proud of you? NO!"

I can't stop the tears from coming, it's been over a year since I last cried. To me crying became completely pointless, it doesn't help anything, "Don't talk about them", I yell harshly, and then sobs are wracking my body and the long overdue drops of water pouring from my eyes are falling like rain. I put my face in my hands to hide my face, I don't like people seeing me cry. Kendall was on target with that remark and it hit me deep. And I never really gave myself time to grieve my parent's death, after a week I jumped right into Justin. Now here I am stuck in a situation I'm not sure if I'll ever get out of. I wouldn't even know how to begin to leave. Sure most people would say simply say 'leave', but they aren't the ones who have to look over their back every two seconds and spend the rest of their lives having nightmares.

"I-I'm sorry Anna. I didn't mean to make you cry", Kendall says softly. I'm crying too hard to respond and I flinch when I feel a hand at my back. I know he only means it in a nice way but it's been so long since I've been touched in a genuinely caring manner that it startled me. My blonde friend goes on as I begin to calm down. "You were always strong, smart, confident, and making everyone laugh. Now it's like I don't even know you at all. I just want my friend back."

I dry my eyes and wipe my face with the sleeve of my hoodie. "I'm stuck. I'm lost Kendall. I just don't know what to do", I say, throwing my arms out to my sides.

"Leave, it's so simple Anna. I mean look at your face and arms. I don't know what the rest of your body looks like but I'm pretty sure I can guess. You don't deserve that", Kendall kneels down in front of me and looks into my face. "You don't need to deal with that. I'll help you. I live in a gated community with Logan, James, and Carlos. You can stay with us. We'll keep you safe and help you get straightened out." Logan, James, and Carlos are his bandmates that make up their music group Big Time Rush. I knew them all in high school as well after I moved here.

The offer sounds like music to my ears, but I don't know if I can. I don't want to be a burden to anyone, plus the fear circles my head like a vulture. "I-I don't know", I whisper.

"We used to be good friends. I care about you and want you to be happy", he states gently.

His kindness is sweet, but my jaded mind feels overwhelmed. "I just need some time to figure it all out", I tell him.

He kinda rolls his eyes and takes in a long breath before replying. "I really don't want you to go back there. You know where it's gonna lead, but you're a grown woman and I can't tell you what to do." Kendall stands up and digs around his pockets, eventually pulling out a pen and a piece of paper. "Hey don't judge, I never know when I'm gonna come up with some good lyrics", he tries to joke. I force the corners of my mouth up into a fake smile. I watch as he writes something down then places the paper into my palm. "That's my number. Call me if you need ANYTHING", he emphasizes the word. "I don't care what time of day or night it is, I'll be there for you."


	4. Chapter 4

**I want to thank all of you lovely reviewers, and those of you adding me on your alerts as either an author or one of my stories, favoriting me or one of my stories, and even you silent readers. I must give an extra big THANKS to you reviewers because you guys totally keep me motivated, I love you all from the bottom of my heart! SHOUT OUTS- ****BigTimeStarKid1****- Awww, Kendall is so easy to love, even him just breathing makes my heart go pitter-patter! And I just so love your compliments, I'm glad the previous chapter came at a good time for you XD ****BigTimeFan50****- Honey when you find a man like Kendall, let me know! Haha I'm with you there though, Kendall is too easy to adore *dreamy sigh* XD ****FangedCutie****- wow, i totally sense your excitement at Kendall's discovery and let me just say, I luv it! Awww, you are too sweet XD ****Ileana****- Yes the story is sad but it's also unfortunately a big dose of reality :( And uhh just sayin here, Kendall just may turn out to be her "Knight" in shining armor XD ****Isn't she lovely****- awww shucks, well thanks! I hope the story turns out to be as fantastic as I'm aiming for XD ****Logan's Honey Pie****- ahh no worries about not reviewing chapter 2 :) I agree with you, people do ignore it which is twisted in my opinion. Tbh, I couldn't sit by and watch it happen, I would totally react to it. Ahh I like your way of thinking that Kendall can be putting her in danger by forcing her. Haha I love your lil thing about moviing to the edge of the seat, for some reason it makes me LOL XD**

**Anna's POV**

It's been a few weeks now since I started sneaking out, and it has become more frequent. I find myself looking forward to these late night meetings with Kendall. We always meet at the same park at the end of the cul de sac, where we spend a few hours together talking and reminiscing about old times, and sometimes I just sit quietly and listen to Kendall as he plays his guitar. I've opened up to him somewhat, and in a way it's like we're good friends again. I enjoy these moments of happiness, laughter, and even relaxation to a point, but things always turn ugly when Kendall begins badgering me about leaving Justin. He doesn't push anymore after I threatened to not meet him anymore. I know it was kinda mean on my part, but things are too complicated to just make a hasty decision. I do understand where he's coming from though, but I still haven't worked out a plan, and of course fear lingers over my head like a stormcloud. I mean, CA is big, but there's always a chance Justin would find me, and then that would be the end. He'd kill me. I know this, and it is the absolute only reason why I haven't taken Kendall up on his offer of leaving Justin.

I find myself whistling, which I haven't done in a very long time, as I skip down the sidewalk. As I get closer to the park, I see Kendall sitting on the bench playing his guitar. I listen as the notes float up to my ears. I don't recognize it, but it's definitely a love song and would most likely be stuck in my head later. "Hey buddy", I greet him as my feet grovel over the wood chips. Kendall hears me, but only gives me a quick nod and a tiny smile as he continues strumming. I love watching him play, he's so passionate and gets lost in his music. I take a seat on a swing, content to listen on.

A couple minutes go by before he stops and threads the pick through a few strings and looks over my way. "You seem kinda cheerful", he states.

I shrug and bite on my lip unsure of what to say. I don't want to get him started by saying, _well there's not much in my life to be happy about, except for these moments when I get to escape and forget about the hell I'm living in for a few short hours when I sneak out._ "What was that song you were just playing?", I ask him and push the ground with the tips of my toes to get the swing started.

"I don't know", he says nonchalantly and makes his way over to the swing next to me.

"What do you mean you don't know? I liked it", I tell him.

His lips turn up at the ends and he looks at me as he sits on the swing. "Really? It's actually something I started writing a few days ago."

"Totally Kendall. I wouldn't lie to you."

"I appreciate that Anna". Everything falls silent until I hear Kendall chuckle.

"What?", I ask him.

"I was just thinking about something. Do you remember that time in eleventh grade when we skipped school because we were too tired to go after going to the Three Day's Grace concert?"

My mind wanders back to that time when we were sixteen. I feel my lips turn up into a slight smile. "Yeah." _I had begged mom and dad to let me go to the concert, but they forbade it considering it was a school night. I fussed and argued with them all week, to no avail so I became desperate when that Wednesday night came. Just like any normal teenager who thinks they know everything, I placed my pillows under the blanket to make it look like I was sleeping and told my parents I was super tired and was going to bed early. After that I ran up to my room and got ready and anxiously waited on Kendall's text to tell me he was near. His idea was to park a few houses down so as not to alert my parents. As soon as the text came through, I snuck out my bedroom window for the first time ever and gallantly ran down the street, giggling and looking over my shoulder the whole time. When I reached Kendall's car, which his parents had so graciously bought him just two weeks prior when he got his driver's license, I quickly slid into the front seat next to him and we sped off. It was Kendall, myself, Jessica, Carlos and James. We blared our favorite songs and sang along for the hour ride to Long Beach. _"That was crazy", I say and look at him.

"It was fun, and totally worth the trouble we got into", he shakes his head.

I scoff. "Yeah well you guys only got in trouble for skipping school. I however, got in major trouble for sneaking out AND skipping school". All of the other kids' parents had allowed them to go, but my parents were kinda strict. Back then I hated it, but now I understand their intentions. It's kinda weird how life is like that, but then again it is life and you learn as you go.

"Right. I don't even know how we thought we could even pull that off. You know, the parental notes."

I laugh for a moment before responding. "Yeah what were we thinking?" _We all decided to forge notes to the school, trying to excuse eachother for being absent the day after the concert. We thought we were home free until the following Monday at school Principal Burch pulled us into the office, all five of us at the same time and questioned us about it. Carlos, bless his heart, never could lie and blew our cover. We weren't mad at Carlos, but needless to say, five sets of parents got phone calls from Principal Burch that day and it was that same night the five of us snuck out and egged his house and car in revenge. _

"How about all those times we played hockey and skated right there", Kendall points his finger to the cul de sac.

"Yeah that was a lot", I agree. Kendall and I were like two peas in a pod back then. The fact that I'm a girl and he's a guy never mattered. From time to time I would do girly things with the girls, but mostly the tomboy in me would be dying to come out and I would hang out with Kendall, Carlos, James, and Logan. Ironically they all LOVED to play hockey but somehow ended up being in a music group together. My mind began to grow curious. "Do you ever think about trying to go professional with hockey, you know, after the band?"

Kendall ponders this over for a minute before answering. "Actually no. I love what I'm doing. It may not have been what I was aiming for in high school, but I'm pretty happy."

"Oh okay. Things change huh?"

"They sure do".

I feel things getting heavy and I don't want to think about my current life situation. "Hey guess who I saw in the supermarket yesterday?", I ask my blonde friend.

"Santa Claus?", Kendall replies with an impish grin.

"Haha", I stick my tongue out at him. "Jerry Houston."

"Jerry Houston", he repeats. "OH! You mean the guy from Carla's birthday party who shaved his eyebrows off during the game of Truth or Dare?" _I'll never forget that birthday party which we were all invited to and attended. It was about the time I started developing my crush on Kendall and somehow someone had dared Kendall to kiss me. He was too stubborn to back down and I'll never forget how it felt when his lips touched mine. He went to pull away but everyone started chanting, "Tongue, tongue, tongue" and Kendall, never the shy one or someone to back down, slid his tongue into my mouth and tangled it with mine. The kiss was innocent and sweet, he was respectful and didn't shove his tongue down my throat. It's more along the lines of what I would call 'church tongue', and I'll never forget it because it was my first real kiss, and I definitely heard fireworks going off in my head. It's not something Kendall and I ever talked about though. _

"Yup. Those were the days huh?", I reply.

He nods his head and wiggles his eyebrows. Before I get a chance to question him on this, he starts talking. "How about senior prom?"

"Oh my gosh!", I gush. "That was just epic!"

"It was the first and only time I saw you in a dress. You cleaned up pretty good for being one of my best buds and a girl."

I blush at his comment. _He had probably only seen my girly side a handful of times. Just like every other regular teenage girl, I was ecstatic for prom and I had lots of fun going dress shopping with my friends. I wore make-up on a daily basis, but I went all out for that night and had my hair and nails done. I remember the look on Kendall's face when he saw me. His eyes about bugged out of his head. _

"Poor Evan", I say and shake my head. _Evan Mann had been my date but had such a severe allergic reaction to something in the punch that he was wisked off to the hospital. Kendall spent the rest of the dance being my date after that considering he dumped his girlfriend Keri two days before prom when he found out she was cheating on him with Colton Reynolds, and attended the dance solo. I remember being so livid at Keri for breaking my friend's heart that the next time I saw Colton in the hallway I punched him right in his eye. Colton was supposed to be one of Kendall's friends, but in my opinion, friends don't do that kind of thing to eachother. So much to my amusement, Colton showed up to prom with a black eye, dateless. I felt smug knowing that Keri kicked his sorry ass to the curb after hearing he got punched out by me._ Let's just say that Keri's lucky I never saw her two timing ass again.

"All of us got drunk that night in the hotel room", Kendall says matter of factly.

"We made a big ass mess when we poured a whole bottle of bubblebath into the jacuzzi!"

"James barfed everywhere".

"Mandy lost her virginity to Logan in that jacuzzi!" We both scrunch our noses up and laugh.

"Carlos passed out on the balcony".

"Jessica ran through the entire fourth floor of the hotel completely naked, wearing just Carlos's helmet", I double over as I collapse into a fit of giggles at the memory, not stopping until tears are running down my cheeks and I can barely breathe.

We continue on reminiscing until it's time for me to leave. This is the part that I hate, everything turns serious again and I'm forced to face reality. "Until next time", I say trying to keep the mood light.

Kendall frowns and nods. "You've got my number right?"

"Absolutely", I respond, and with a wave I turn around and begin my journey back home.

The cold hand of darkness grips my heart as I stare at the door in front of me. I wait a few seconds before opening the door quietly and stepping into the house. It closes behind me and just as I slip my second shoe from my foot, I hear, "Where the hell have you been?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Back again with another chapter ladies and gents. I want to give a quick thank you to all of you readers and reviewers, you are absolutely lovely. SHOUT OUTS- ****BigTimeStarKid1****- *big sigh* I don't know what to say to you my dear, Justin is just a creep. On a good note though, I'm glad you enjoyed the memories, I was pretty unsure and kinda just made some stuff up, but yes the kiss was so sweet XD ****dudeamanda****- i'm glad you enjoyed memory lane...whew, i hope this chapter exceeds your expectations XD ****child who is cool- **** why, thank you XD ****BigTimeFan50****- yeah things have definitely changed huh? XD ****Ileana****- well thank you, i'm quite fond of the memories myself...ummm yea i don't know what to say about this chapter, make sure you read the warning at the end of the A/N XD ****annabellex2****- thank you so much, i'm glad you're enjoying my story...we'll have to see what happens huh? XD ****FangedCutie****- and again, i'm so happy that you liked the memories...and I'm glad you think this story is fun, I don't know about compelling though, but as always, thank you for all of your compliments XD**

**WARNING: This chapter may be disturbing due to violence, and may not go over very well for those who are faint of heart...so read carefully.**

**Anna's POV**

"I-I", I stammer but his hand wraps around my neck and shoves me back into the door.

"Tell me. Where. Were. You?", his voice is angry.

I've been in this predicament too long and I've had enough. I know things will never change; he'll eventually end up killing me if I stay, and Iikewise if I leave, so why not end it now? I get a sudden bout of courage and say what's on my mind for the first time. "Does it matter where I was? Just do what you're gonna do and get it overwith already".

A look of surprise crosses his face and he chuckles before bringing the back of his hand across my cheek. It stings a bit, but I'm used to it by now. "Look bitch, the way it works around here is I ask the questions and you provide the answers", he sneers.

If this is the way my life is gonna end, then so be it. Feeling relentless, I look him straight in the eye and spit in his face. This earns me a slap to my other cheek and a punch in my stomach. I gasp for breath as I double over with the agonizing pain.

"You're a fucking whore!", he screams and yanks my head up by my hair until I'm looking at him. Justin inches closer and I see by his face that he's enraged, a psychotic look is residing in his eyes. "Answer my question", his hot breaths bounce off of my face.

I just close my eyes and bite down on my lip, succumbing to whatever may be coming next. I refuse to let the tears fall, this asshole doesn't deserve that satisfaction. "Okay, this is how it's gonna be huh?" he snarls.

I'm thrown to the ground by my hair and he straddles me. Keeping my eyes closed, I feel his hands creep up underneath my shirt until they're met with my breasts. He leans down to me and drags his tongue up my cheek as he roughly cups my breasts in his hands. His lips are now at my ear and the stubble on his chin scratches the raw skin of my cheek. I squeeze my lips together to prevent any noise from coming out. "You know what? You're too damn pretty for me to get rid of. And your sass is really turning me on". One of his hands is removed from my breast and I shudder when I feel it ascend the inside of my thigh and grab at my crotch over the thick fabric of my jeans. "I think I'm gonna go take a shower, then you and me are gonna have a real good time upstairs in the bedroom. Perhaps we could even try something new". The tone of his voice sends shivers up my spine, I know what kind of sadistic things he likes to do. Suddenly Justin's weight is lifted off of me and I wait until I hear his footsteps going up the stairs to let out a sigh of relief.

The bathroom door closes and I count to fifty after I hear the shower turn on before getting up and sprinting to the phone. With shaky hands I fumble around inside my bra where I snugly tucked the folded up piece of paper after last night's shower, just as I do everyday. I unfold it and dial the numbers quickly, impatiently listening through each ring until it seems like forever when I get an answer. "Hello?", the voice asks.

"Kendall, it's Anna" I say in just above a whisper. "Help me please. I need you to come get me."

"What? Why?", he questions.

"Just come now", I beg.

"Okay I'll be there real soon", he replies and hangs up. I place the phone back in it's cradle as quietly as I possibly can, trying not to alert Justin to what I've just done. My intention to go lay on the couch is stopped short when I hear the deep voice come from the foot of the stairs.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing Anna?" Justin's voice is laced with danger and suddenly I hear blood rushing through my ears and my heartbeat starts thumping wildly against my ribcage. I stand frozen, staring back at him until I see his foot reach down to the next step. Something tells me to run and I listen. I run into the kitchen and pull out the biggest knife we have hidden at the back of the drawer. I then back myself up against the wall next to the refrigerator, keeping myself from his view when he first enters the kitchen. I get an adrenaline surge when his movements cease on the other side of the refrigerator, and I move my hand behind my leg, hiding the knife. I clench my lips together tightly to hold in my breath.

I don't know how much time passes before he appears in front of me with the speed of a ninja. Before I can even react, his hand curls around my arm and pulls me so hard I fall to the floor. The knife still secure in my hand, I get back up to my feet just to be knocked down again when his fist serves a blow to my temple. Everything gets blurry for a few seconds before my vision clears, and I see the knife laying twenty feet away. Justin's eye fix in on my target and I lay there helpless as I watch him walk over, pick up the weapon, then make his way back to me. "Wow. Maybe you're a little smarter than I ever gave you credit for. But then again, you're the one laying in the floor right now", he scoffs. Justin's eyes dart wildly back and forth between me and the knife.

"No. Don't. Please", I choke out.

"Anna, Anna, Anna", he says then clicks his tongue against his teeth. "I'm just gonna have to teach you a lesson here." My eyes go wide with fear and I cover my face with my arms as the shiny silver blade gets closer to my body. I can't help but to scream out at the searing pain when the skin of my abdomen is punctured. Of all the things Justin has done, he's never stabbed me. I feel several more lacerations before my body starts to go cold, yet the warm blood oozes from my wounds. The last thing I feel is being dragged by my hair into another room. The last thing I hear is Kendall calling my name, but I'm too weak to respond. Weakness encompasses my body, my eyes flutter closed, and everything fades to black.

...

**Kendall's POV**

I hear a scream as I'm running up the driveway, and fears grips my heart, urging me to pump my legs faster. I bound up the concrete steps and my eyes zoom in to the door, which is cracked open. I don't wait for an invitation, with adrenaline pushing me along, I barge through the door and feel bile rise up in my stomach at the sight in front of me. Anna is laying in the floor with her eyes closed, blood pooling around her. Justin is repeatedly kicking her limp body. On instinct, I run and tackle him, sending him sprawling into the floor. "You fucking piece of shit!", I yell and jump on top of him before slamming my fist down into his face. I don't know the creep but I don't care. I feel a sense of satisfaction as he wipes blood from his nose and sees the red substance on his hand. "You're so tough huh? Beating up a girl. That's just dirty and makes you a coward", I snap.

The asshole tries to push me off of him, but I'm not willing to budge. "You better get off of me or I'll-"

"You'll what?", I cut him off. "Maybe you should try to fight like a man. Do you really think you're so tough putting your hands on a girl? That's just dirty and makes you a coward", I spit.

He has the audacity to laugh in my face. "The little bitch got what she deserves", he spits out.

Hearing these words makes me see red. Automatically, anger shoots through my veins and I plow my fist into his face again. "Anna's no bitch." I ball my other hand up then slam it into the other side of his face. "And no woman deserves that!" I can't seem to calm down, and I keep pounding his face as he lays there helpless. Only when blood drips down every single crack and crevice of his marred face am I able to regain my sense of control and move myself from him, and over to Anna.

"Anna", I whisper and push her hair back off her face. "Fuck", I yell out in frustration as I look down at her stomach. Blood is gushing through tears in her purple shirt and acting on instinct, I place two fingers at the inside of her wrist to check her pulse. It's faint, but it's there. My heart leaps into my throat when I hear the sirens. I run out to the yard and wave my arms frantically back and forth so they know it's the right place. I had enough sense to call the police and an ambulance to Anna's address as I drove over. I watch in a daze as two paramedics jump out of the ambulance and take a stretcher from the back of the vehicle and run inside with it.

Not giving any thought to Justin, I follow them in and stand by as they lift her up and onto the stretcher and put an oxygen mask over her face. "Is she gonna be okay?" Neither one of the paramedics answer so I continue on. "Please tell me she's going to make it", I plead.

They both look at me with solemn looks on their faces. "We don't know sir", the shorter one answers. I turn my head to see two police officers talking to a battered, but sitting up on the floor Justin. I clench my hands into tight fists again as I glare at the mother fucker who did this to my friend.

"No. She has to", I utter and turn back to the paramedics, running my hands through my hair. If only I could have gotten here sooner, this wouldn't have happened. If only she would have listened to me before things escalated to this. The stretcher being wheeled outside once again catches my attention, and I chase after the two men. "Can I ride with her?", I call out.

"No, but you can follow us to the hospital and once she's been examined, you'll be able to see her", the other one replies.

Disappointment seeps through my pores and I pace along the grass to try to rid some of my tension and relax as they load my friend up into the back of the ambulance. I watch as it backs out of the driveway then I head to my car, but am stopped by a uniformed officer standing next to a patrol car. "I need to talk to you for a minute", he states.

I let out a disgruntled sigh. "Can this wait? That was my friend in the back of the ambulance", I ask.

"I'm afraid not, sir. And I'm gonna have to ask you to place your hands behind your back", he orders.

Confusion clouds my brain. "What? Why?", I question him.

"You're being placed under arrest for assaulting Justin Gotye."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N- Wow, let me just start here by saying that you guys reading and reviewing are absolutely amazing! This is not my usual type of story per se, but you are definitely letting me know that I'm doing a good job, thus keeping my confidence up. So a very special THANK YOU to all of you reviewers! For all of you silent readers out there, don't be offended, I appreciate you as well! SHOUT OUTS- ****Logan's Honey Pie****- *takes a bow* Just wow to your super awesome review! You know how nervous I was about writing this from the beginning, and it's nice to hear your compliments! And I absolutely love that you almost felt like you were in the story yourself. XD ****FangedCutie****- Well what can I say here besides Aww shucks? I totally agree with you, about how I don't know the guys so it's hard to write them, but honestly I write how I want them to be, if that makes any sense lol. Poor Anna huh? And how jacked up is it that Kendall gets arrested after what Justin did? *scoffs* Hehe well I guess you'll find out a lil more what happens in this chapter XD ****Kensare****- haha sorry it didn't get updated as soon as last time, but hey four days isn't so bad is it? XD ****BigTimeFan50****- We are definitely sharing some of the same thoughts! I like how you keep it real XD ****Child who is cool****- thanks! XD ****anon****- haha, maybe your questions will be answered...your update has arrived! ****BigTimeStarKid1****- isn't it lovely that Kendall showed up just when he did? I am totally on your side about the Justin dude, what a creep! Sorry the update took a few days, I've been a slacker lol...and thank you although I don't think I would call the last chapter brilliant, i'll gladly settle for you liked it! XD ****jackiex3****- i have gotten several different reviews from you and let me just thank you from the bottom of my heart! I adore reviews, they are very motivational...and I am so glad that you like my writing and that you even love this story! XD ****Ileana****- I know, the last chapter was totally cray right? Here's your chance to find out what happens next! XD ****dudeamanda****- i am thrilled that you loved it! Read om to find out what happens to Kendall XD**

**Kendall's POV**

"Knight", I hear my last name being called and the Security Guard walks toward the cell. "You made bail", he informs me and slides it open with a loud _clank_. I give a sigh, rise from the hard bench, and make my way out of the cell to the desk his outstretched arm is pointing to. According the clock on the wall, it's been over four hours since I've been here and my stomach has tightened into a ball of mixed emotions. Number one being worried, I have no idea what condition Anna is in. Secondly, I have hope- that she'll survive and that she'll break the cycle and actually leave Justin. The third being instense anger, if that can begin to describe it. I was arrested, while the true criminal Justin is sitting at home scot free after beating the crap out of Anna, and landing her in the hospital.

A middle aged blonde man sits waiting for me, with the name Hudson stitched across the pocket of his blue uniform shirt. He shoves a paper in my direction and hands me a pen. My eyes find where I need to sign my name, and while doing so, I ask the officer who I can speak to about what happened this morning. He kindly told me that I would have to go to the main intrance of the police station and inquire there, as he only handles the release of individuals. I nod my head and offer a thank you before the security guard opens a door that leads me to the main entrance. Logan removes himself from the dark blue plastic chair he's sitting on and hurriedly walks towards me. "What happened man? Are you okay?", he asks with a hint of concern in his voice as he looks me over.

"I'm as good as I'm gonna be right now. Just give a minute though, I need to do something real quick", I tell him and he nods in head in approval. I leave him standing there and stalk to the front desk. An overweight bald dude sits there wiping his hands on a napkin, completely oblivious to the jelly and powder from his just finished donut smeared across his cheek.

"What can I help you with?", he asks. I go through the whole story of this morning's events and offer up other things Anna has told me about during our meetings, just for the lazy ass to reply with a, "The officers from this morning will be handling that. They'll get a hold of you when they're ready to take your statement."

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?", I lose my temper and begin yelling. "I watched him kicking her, I found her laying in blood after what he did to her, I've seen bruises. He's probably sitting at home while she could very well be dead at this moment, and you're telling me there's nothing you can do about it? THAT'S BULLSHIT!"

"Just calm down, sir", the man says in his monotone voice as he holds his hands up defensively in front of him.

"Seriously?", I scoff in frustration and slam my hands down hard onto the desk between the both of us. "And you fucking wonder why I have no faith left in law enforcement. All you do is sit around twiddling your thumbs and eating donuts all day!", I bark.

"Dude, chill", I hear Logan say to me and his hand cups my shoulder. "Relax for a minute before I have to bail you out for a second time today."

"Yeah", I huff out as I look at my brunette friend. I know he's right but my temper has gotten the best of me.

"Come on, let's get out of here", he suggests and starts pulling me until I turn around. Ten seconds later I'm storming out of the police station like my ass is on fire.

"What the hell happened?", Logan asks as we step out into the warm sunshine. I give him the short version and he just looks at me stunned. "Wow. That's some crazy shit."

"Yeah I know. Take me to the hospital?", I ask as we reach his car.

"Ummm", he pauses and raises an eyebrow before continuing. "Dude, I think you should go home, get a shower, and put on some fresh clothes first."

I look at him sideways so he knows I'm not in the mood. "Logan, just take me to the damn hospital, please?", I grumble.

"Okay Okay", he agrees and unlocks the car doors.

Twenty minutes later I'm talking to the receptionist in the lobby of the hospital. "Hi. I'm looking for what room number Anna Lynch is in", I tell the red haired lady.

"Just a second", she offers a smile and I watch as she looks through the folder on the desk in front of her. Only a few seconds later she looks back up at me. "I don't see her name on the list."

Panic creeps up and I automatically assume the worst-that Anna didn't make it. I get dizzy and break out in a sweat. "Umm, I-Are you sure?", I question and give her what little information I know. "She was brought here this morning by ambulance."

"Oh I see, sir. I suggest that you go to the Emergency Department and see if she might still be there. It's been extremely busy today from what I've heard."

My breath comes out in a whoosh and hope seeps into my pores. "You got it. Thanks", I call out before I sprint away.

After several twists and turns, I find myelf in front of yet another desk today, with someone asking how they can help me. I tell her who I'm looking for, and she responds with a statement that she can't give me any information since I'm not related to Anna, only family members can be told anything about a patient in the E.R. I protest, telling her that Anna has no family, thus our conversation turns into an argument with both the receptionist and I going back and forth at eachother until I finally wear her down. I'm pretty certain that she sees my determination and relentless-ness, and with a quick dart of her eyes back and forth, she informs me in a whisper that Anna is indeed alive and is being admitted to a room as we speak, so please be patient.

For the first time today relief floods my body and I sit down for a few minutes to collect myself. I send up a silent prayer of thanks to the man upstairs before making the decision to head to the giftshop, figuring it'll give me something to do while I wait.

...

**Anna's POV**

A light knocking jars me awake. I must have drifted off after getting settled in, it has been quite a hectic morning. "Come in", I call weakly but don't have the strength to sit up. I watch the door open and a very disheviled Kendall peeks his head in.

"Hey", he speaks softly. "Can I come in?" I nod my head and he walks into the room. One hand holds a balloon that reads Get Well, the other is curled around a bouquet of white gerbera daisies. I'm taken aback by his appearance though; his white shirt is wrinkled and has blood stains, as well as his jeans. They have a few tears in them, too.

He moves closer to me and sets the flowers on the table before tying the balloon string around the vase. "I got these for you", he says with a tiny smile and sits in the chair facing the bed.

"Thank you", I'm able to croak out with a weak voice.

He nods and responds, "I would've gotten you a different kind of flower, but the other choices all had pink in them and I know how you despise the color pink", he winks at me. "How are you?"

"I'm okay I guess". We look at eachother silent, neither one of us knowing what to say, until curiosity gets the best of me. "What happened to you?"

"You-you don't remember?", he asks, his handsome face turning into a grimace.

I shake my head. "No, I blacked out."

A wild look flashes in his green eyes. "When I got there, you were laying in the floor covered in blood, and that asshole was kicking you. I was beyond pissed, so I jumped on him and started punching him. I couldn't seem to stop until he was all bloody. I knocked him out, then the paramedics came and took you away."

"Wow", is all I can think to say as my brain tries to process everything.

"Yeah, and then I got arrested for beating his ass, after what he did to you. That creep! If I ever-"

"What? You-you got arrested because of me?" I'm shocked to say the least.

"Yeah. I can't let anything happen to my Anna Banana", he says with a smirk. I feel my lips curve up into a smile at the nickname he used to call me.

I'm still baffled and I reach out to touch his arm. "Kendall, you didn't have to-OWWW!", I yelp in pain as my torso is stretched. I lean back against the bed again.

Concern covers Kendall's face and he scoots up in the chair. "Are you okay?"

"Mm-hmm", I say through clenched teeth. "I shouldn't have tried to move."

"I'm sorry", Kendall apologizes, his eyes dropping to the floor.

"Not your fault". My eyes travel to his hands resting in his lap. "Oh my God Kendall!", I spazz.

His head flies up and his eyes widen. "What?", he exclaims.

"Your hands. Does it hurt?" His knuckles and the tops of his hands are swollen, bruised, and even a few scabs decorate his knuckles.

His eyes follow mine and he holds his hands up. "This is nothing".

i feel guilty all of a sudden, seeing as how much trouble Kendall has gone through for me. "It's not no-", but the ringing of the phone on the bedside table ringing interrupts before I can finish. I pick it up and answer, "hello".

"Well I guess you're still alive you little wench", the male voice on the other end of the phone says, sending chills down my spine. "Listen to me and listen good or I'll make sure I kill your sorry ass next time, and it will be slow and a hell of a lot more painful. You're coming back home to me when you're released tomorrow and you need to make sure that when the cops come to question you, you tell them that someone broke into the house and did that to you. I better not even hear that you said my name. Understand me bitch?"

I gulp and blink my eyes several times before stuttering "Y-yeah".

"Good. Hang the phone up now", Justin orders. My hand shakes as I try to place the phone back in it's place. I fail and it falls to the floor, and I feel all the coor drain from my face, knowing Kendall's eyes are boring into me. I keep my eyes down while he picks it up and hangs it up before calling my name. Tears start to well up in my eyes as fear sinks back in. I actually tricked myself into thinking I was safe here in the hospital and that I could get away from Justin at last. Look how wrong I turned out to be.

"Anna", he says again. "Who was on the phone?"

Feeling defeated, the first tear rolls down my cheek and I lift my head. "It was Justin."

"Son of a bitch! What did he want?", Kendall half yells. I tell him everything Justin said, and can practically see the steam coming out of his ears. He leaps off the chair. "That bastard! I'll go find him and kick his ass again! Hell, I'll even kill him this time. It'll be worth anything that happens!"

I cringe, hating myself for bringing this on Kendall. He doesn't deserve any of this and he doesn't need to get involved. However, before I get a chance to tell him this, there's a knock on the door. "Ms. Lynch?", a deep male voice questions, and two men dressed in police uniforms enter the room.

"Yes, that's me", I respond, unsure of who this is and give Kendall a questioning look.

"Hi. I'm Detective Marshall and I need to ask you some questions about what occured this morning."

"Okay", I nod my head at the tall man.

The detective looks at Kendall and states, "I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. My partner and I would like to question her alone."

"Yeah, sure", my blonde friend, actually my only friend, responds and gets up to leave. He gives me a pleading look and places a quick kiss on my cheek. "Tell them the truth Anna, please. I'll come back in when they're done", he informs me and I watch him walk out.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N And alas another chapter has been produced. It's not fabulous or exciting, it's merely a filler chapter, but it's a bridge to bigger and better things. Much thanks to those of you leaving reviewers and even you silent readers! SHOUT OUTS- ****Logan's Honey Pie**** I am with you on those frustrations about Justin...total creep! Yes Kendall is such a sweetie isn't he? No prob, I call it like I see it, no maybe you'll be getting that story posted any minute now, I'm too anxious and excited! XD ****BigTimeFan50****- I like your way of thinking, I would totally love to make Justin's sorry feel even an ounce of pain he put Anna through! I'm glad you're so into the story, but trust me when I say you're not the only person despising Justin! XD ****child who is cool****- thx for the review! XD ****BigTimeStarKid1****- I feel your anger and annoyance at the twisted ways of law enforcement! Justin is a total dirtbag, just hang around and see what happens next! XD ****BellaLuna2369****- Read on to find what happens, but thx for the review! XD ****FangedCutie****- I'm glad you like it when the other guys make appearances, there will be more of them coming up ;) Anna is in a scary situation, but ya never know what'll happen! XD ****Ileana- **** Yay! I'm so glad you think the story is getting good. I updated as soon as I could, hope it didn't keep ya hanging too long! XD**

**Kendall's POV**

"Kendall Knight?", a deep male voice cuts into my thoughts, jarring me to the present.

"Umm yeah", I say and sit straight up in the not so comfortable plastic waiting room chair. "What can I do for you?", I ask the Detective who had entered Anna's room before I left.

"I'm Detective Marshall", he introduces himself to me. "I need to ask you some questions about the incident this morning."

"Sure. No problem."

The tall man raises an eyebrow. "Is here okay?"

"It's fine by me", I reply and watch as he takes a pen and a small notepad out of his pocket.

"Okay Mr. Knight. How do you know Ms. Anna Lynch?"

I put my hands out to the sides. "Her family moved here when we were sixteen and we went to high school together. We lost contact for a couple of years but then I saw Anna at a park and we've been meeting there several times a week because we both have issues sleeping. Insomnia."

"Alright. So tell me what happened this morning", I'm urged.

"Well, Anna called me asking me to come get her. She sounded scared and I knew where she lives and what's been going on in that house so after I hung up with her, I called 911 and drove over to her house."

"Can you explain what you mean by 'what's been going on in that house' to me?"

"Justin-her boyfriend, the guy she lives with, beats her. You know, domestic violence." I pause and try to keep my emotions in check before going on. "She always has bruises on her face and her body. He beats the crap out of her, but she won't leave him. I've tried to talk to her about it so many times. And he controls her. She says that she gets timed when she leaves the house and stuff and-"

"Okay", he cuts me off. "Now what happened when you arrived at the house?"

The picture was so clear in my head that I didn't even have to think back to remember it. The front door was open and I heard a scream so I walked right in. Anna was laying on the floor bleeding all over the place and Justin was kicking her limp body." I look up at the officer and he nods.

"What happened next?"

Anger begins coursing through me at the sight of Justin's foot repeatedly being slammed into Anna. "I was pissed off, no man should ever do that kind of stuff do to a woman. So I ran and pushed him to the ground, then I started punching him. I really couldn't help myself. I didn't stop until he was knocked out." I watched as he scribbled on his notepad.

"Is that all?"

"Pretty much. The ambulance came, loaded her up and took her away. I was headed to my car to follow along to the hospital when I was arrested. I was cuffed and stuffed for trying to defend a friend, and that asshole Gotye stayed home after almost killing someone. That's bullshit!", I start raising my voice.

"I understand your frustrations Mr. Knight but I have a couple questions to ask you now."

"Okay".

"Is it possible that you and Anna have romantic feelings towards eachother?"

My eyebrows knit together in confusion at his odd question. "No. We're just friends."

The pen in his hand moves for several seconds until he speaks again. "Have you and Anna been secretly meeting up as lovers?"

I scoff in irritation. "Umm no. I already told you we are nothing more than friends." The officer's brown eyes bore into mine as if he doesn't believe me.

"I have one last question Kendall. Are you jealous of the relationship Ms. Lynch has with Mr. Gotye? Maybe you attacked Justin because you wanted Anna to leave him for you but she declined."

"Are you fucking serious?", I'm practically yelling. "No I wasn't jealous of their relationship. I was livid that Justin would treat her so horribly!"

The officer purses his lips and his brown eyes bore into mine. "Calm down Mr. Knight. These are just questions."

I really can't help my aggravation. "Yeah well they're insane and make no sense. It's like you're tying to make me out the bad guy, but I'm not!"

Detective Marshall once again nods. "Okay well I'm finished here, but have one more thing to ask. Do you swear that everything you just said to me is the truth? Because there are repercussions for lying to a member of law enforcement."

"Absolutely", I snap. "What possible reason would I have to fucking lie?"

"That's all Mr. Knight. You have a good day."

"Whatever", I roll my eyes and watch him walk away. I slump back into the chair and run my hands over my face before letting out a frustrated sigh. I can only hope that Anna told the truth when she was questioned.

After mulling things over and taking a moment to relax, I head back up to Anna's room. When I get there I knock lightly but she doesn't answer so I peek my head in and call her name. Her eyes are closed and she still doesn't respond, and I know she needs her rest, so I decide to run home to get a shower and eat before coming back.

...

**Anna's POV**

I move my eyes from the soap opera on t.v. when I hear a knock at the door. Kendall's blonde mop makes an appearance and I wave him in, grateful for some company. Being in the hospital sucks and is boring, and the channel selection is very limited. "Hey stranger", he says as he walks across the room and sits on the chair he was occupying earlier.

"Hey yourself", I greet him back.

"So what's up with the security guard outside the door? He ID'd me", Kendall asks as he points his thumb to the door.

I shrug. "Security I guess. Gotta keep the patients safe around here."

His head bobs up and down in agreement. "That's a good thing actually. Hey I ran into Jessica earlier in the lobby downstairs."

"Oh yeah?", I ask somewhat curious.

"Yeah. When she asked what I was doing here I told her you were here, but I didn't tell her why. It's not my business to tell and I want you to know that Anna. She wanted to visit you, but you were sleeping so she might come by later."

I grin up at him, thankful for him being such a loyal friend, but I don't mind. "Thank you", I utter.

"No problem", he answers with a return smile. All falls silent for a minute before his bushy eyebrows are raised and the word, "Sooo", dangles from his lips.

"What?"

"How did the questioning go?", he questions with a hopeful look on his face. I kow what he's trying to ask but he's kinda beating around the bush.

"I told them the truth", I reply and am rewarded with his green eyes lighting up.

"Did you really?"

"Yeah", I nod. I spent the morning and some of the afternoon taking a good hard look at my life and what my parents would think. I honestly think they would be disappointed and ashamed of me if they were alive. What Justin did to me this morning really opened my eyes. No matter how deep the fear is rooted into me, I know that if I go back I'm just allowing him to treat me this way. Not only that, I know he'll punish me for this and that's not a chance I wanna take. After this I never know how far he'll go, and I don't want death to be the consequence one day because he couldn't stop himself. I'm twenty one years old and I have the chance of a long, happy life ahead of me. "It's time to end this chapter of my life, and start a new one."

Excitement and pride is evident on Kendall's handsome face. "Wow, that's great. I'm so-"

A nurse walks in, cutting him off. "Just need to take your vitals sweetie. How are you feeling?", she asks me.

"I'm okay".

"Are you having any pain?"

I shake my head. " None at all."

"That is great", she wraps the belt for the blood pressure thing around my upper left arm. "You're such a trooper." I feel a bit embarrassed, not being used to compliments, so I shrug my shoulders in response and offer a tiny smile. "I have great news for ya sweetheart", the nice nurse informs me as she removes the thing from my arm.

"What is it?", I ask.

"You can go home tomorrow darlin'. But if you live by yourself, make sure you have someone who can stay with you for a few days to help you out." I watch as her eyes wander over to Kendall. "I'm sure your boyfriend wouldn't mind."

I feel my cheeks heat up and know without a doubt that they're turning pink. "Umm, he's not my boyfriend". I look up to see a devious look on his face and he chuckles.

She leans down close to me. "Well he sure is a cutie...don't let him get away", she whispers in my ear. Great, my face is just flaming now, I'm sure I look like a strawberry. "My job is done here, but if you need anything don't be afraid to push the red _call_ button on the bed."

"Thanks" I call after her as she saunters away. Keeping my eyes down on my hands, I begin fidgeting in nervousness as I think how I want to ask Kendall the question that's been running through my mind for a few minutes now. "Kendall?"

"Yeah?", he replies, his eyebrows raise in curiosity.

"Umm do you think...Can I...", I don't know what I'm so afraid of but I lose my nerve and let my voice trail off.

A warmth wrapping around my arm startles me and I look over to see his arm resting on mine. "Anna, do you want to come stay with me and the guys?"

"Yeah", I nod my head and avert my gaze from his piercing green orbs, feeling my emotions starting to bubble up. I don't really have any other friends since I dropped them all when I met Justin and I don't know how to explain it, but I feel safe around Kendall.

"I wouldn't have it any other way", he smirks and I breathe out a sigh of relief.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N My apologies in taking so long to update, I don't really have an excuse besides it being summertime! XD I hope all you readers are enjoying your summer vacation! And please excuse any errors on here as I was way too lazy to bother reading back through it, the pool is waiting for me outside! As always, much thanks and love to you reviewers and readers, you rock my world! Oh, and a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Anna! I hope you get everything you wanted! SHOUT OUTS- ****child who is cool****- great review ;p ****annabellex2****- I like your way of thinking, and I have no doubt that Kendall could handle it! XD ****BigTimeFan50****- I'm inclined to agree with you, and yea what the hell was up with the officer's annoying questions? XD ****BigTimeStarKid1****- I'm happy she told the truth as well, guess we'll have to wait around and see what happens to the creep huh? :) The guys are a tiny bit in this chapter, I tried LOL And yes, Kendall would not have let her go anywhere else, I believe he would have kidnapped her to bring her to his house and keep her safe if he had to! XD ****Boysboysboys love em****- Hmmm, I'm keeping quiet on the whole Kendall knows he wants to be more than friends thing! :) Haha! Yano what? I'ma find the asshole Justin and deliver him right to your doorstep, so get that butter sock ready girl! He'd be a great target to try it on XD ****Ileana****- Okay so this is totally random, but everytime I type your name, "I'm like it's so pretty!" Yes, it is fabulous that she told the truth, and will be living with the guys! XD ****Logan's Honey Pie****- Yeah, the detective was quite a jerk huh? And of course Kendall's gonna want Anna to stay with him, he's a great friend! As for Justin, who knows what's gonna happen? XD**

**Anna's POV**

"Everything looks good Anna", Josh tells me as he steps in front of the door.

"Okay thank you, and have a goodnight", I say to him, then watch as he opens the door and walks out. I lock it behind him and head up the stairs to my room. Josh is a good friend of Kendall's, and someone who he basically 'hired' to drive me around whenever I need to go somewhere, and Josh also went places with me when Kendall or one of the other guys couldn't. I guess you can say that Kendall has been extremely protective of me since I was released from the hospital. It's sweet, but kind of annoying in a way, although I must admit I do feel safe with a bulky Josh around to 'guard me'.

I drop my purse and the shopping bag on the bed and sit down next to it, pulling out my phone and scrolling through until I find Kendall's name in the contacts list. **I'm home & have some exciting news! **I type in, then send it and set my phone on the mattress. Today has been a long, busy day for me but good as well. It marks six weeks since I've been free from Justin and released from the hospital. After my once a week counselling session, I got my stitches taken out, then treated myself to a tiny shopping spree for some new summer clothes since it's already late May. Among shorts, tank tops, and a couple pairs of sandals, I got a new bikini and one piece bathing suit. I just can't imagine going to the beach and having people stare at the ugly scars marring my abdomen.

After all that fun, I went apartment hunting and signed a lease to a nice apartment with a high level of security. To be honest, I'm not sure how Kendall or any of the other guys are going to take the news when I tell them I'm moving out. I'm grateful for all that they have done for me, but I'm an adult and it's high time for me to get back on track and live. I'd been back to my parent's house a few times and shed many a tear at old memories, but I realized my life has to go on and I decided to sell the place. At first I entertained the idea of moving back there, but the house is too big for just myself. So I declared 'Out with the old, in with the new'.

I feel my lips turn up into a smile when I reflect upon just how much my life has changed in the course of the past six weeks, and all for the good. When I first came here from the hospital, the guys fawned over me and it made me uncomfortable. I wasn't used to all the attention, but I eventually got used to it. I still don't like people touching me, though and I know it will take time for that to change, my therapist assures me of that. I've bonded with Kendall, Logan, James, and Carlos, and learned to trust them all. Well obviously Kendall wasn't that hard to get used to since we had had our 'meetings'. Logan, an aspiring doctor doted on me and always made sure I was comfortable and in no pain. He was also like a mother hen, making sure I eat properly and get lots of rest. Carlos, the biggest sweetheart I have ever known, would sit with me for hours on end, making me laugh until I was sure my stitches would rip out. James actually surprised me with how much he's changed since high school. Back then he used to be a brainless jock, but here in the present he can sit with me and hold an intellectual conversation.

All in all the pieces my life seem to be falling into place. I've even been rebuilding my friendship with Jessica and Mandy. They've visited me several times and we've hung out, sharing memories and even a few tears. It's nice to have friends again and to be free. I'm bouncing back from a rough period but I always manage to keep a smile on my face because honestly there's not much for me to complain about. My phone beeps, signalling me of a new text. I reach over and check it. It's from Kendall. **Oooh, do tell**, it says.

I chuckle then reply, **When you guys get home**.

**Ok, altho I'll have 2 warn u that we're gonna be stuck here 4 a couple more hrs.**, Kendall texts back.

**K, c ya when u get back!**, I respond and head downstairs for something to eat since the rumbling in my tummy reminded me I hadn't eaten since lunch.

I make my way downstairs to kitchen. Two minutes later I've searched through every cabinet, cupboard, refrigerator, and freezer just to find junk food or meat. "Yuck", I say about my choices. Not liking the fact that animals are killed for people to eat, I became a vegetarian when I was twelve after I read a book that goes into details about the inhumane and cruel ways animals are raised and slaughtered. I don't preach to people, I just choose not to eat meat. With a huff I pull out a loaf of bread and the cheese, and make myself a cheese sandwich, noting that I or someone else needs to do some grocery shopping tomorrow.

After walking around the house aimlessly eighteen times from sheer boredom and not finding anything to do, I decide to take a swim in the pool. Running back upstairs, I change into the bikini I bought today and grab an oversized towel from the linen closet next to the bathroom before sprinting out the back doors and over the patio. I take a moment to toss the towel onto one of the loungers, and come to a stand in front of the inground pool, pondering over the temperature of the water. It only takes a few seconds for me to say to hell with it because swimming used to be one of my favorite activities and craving the feel of the cool, chlorinated water surrounding me, I close my eyes and dive in.

...

**Kendall's POV**

"Anna", I call out as soon as we close the door behind us. We had to work late because Gustavo was in a bad mood, but I've been dying to hear this news Anna said she had to tell me. I search the whole downstairs of the house for her but don't find her, so I run up to her room. My heart drops when I don't see her in there, so I check the rest of the second floor before descending the stairs and meeting up with the guys in the living room. "Have you guys seen Anna? I can't find her anywhere."

I get a "nope", "no", and one shake of a head before I feel panic rising.

"Damn it", I shout. "I can't find her. Where could she have gone?"

"Dude, maybe she's sleeping", Carlos answers.

"I checked her room, she's not there", I pull my lips into a tight line.

I must say I'm taken aback a bit by James' suggestion. "Why don't you call Josh? Maybe she decided to go out somewhere."

I begin to calm down a bit, it could be a possibility. "Good idea", I tell my friend then dial Josh's number on my phone. After asking him a few quick questions, he confrims that he dropped Anna off here and inspected the house, deeming it safe before he left.

"What the hell!", I exclaim and am met with the faces of my three buddies looking back at me. "He dropped her off a few hours ago. She's not here, though. Do-do you think something could have happened?" Fear begins creeping up, we've been so careful, done everything to keep her safe and she was reverting back to her old self, and now Justin might have gotten ahold of her.

"You don't think-", James starts to say but is cut off by Logan.

"Guys", the nerdy one of us throws his hands out in front of him. "Let's just calm down for a minute and try to think rationally okay? I have an idea".

"Okay, what?", I throw out the question.

"Maybe you overlooked her somehow. We should all split up and sarch for her. "

"I smell a plan!", I exclaim and we all agree.

Five minutes later I'm looking in Logan's room when I hear Carlos shouting. "I found her guys. Out by the pool."

I fly down the stairs and out to the patio as if my ass was on fire, to see Anna curled up on one of the lounge chairs covered by a towel. My heart slows down to it's regular speed. "Anna", I call her name and wait for her to respond. She doesn't move or anything and I'm kinda hesitant to shake her arm, knowing how uncomfortable it makes her when someone touches her. I repeat her name, a little louder this time and she sits up slowly.

My friend rubs her eyes and looks at me. "Hey", she says, her voice raspy from sleep.

"What happened? What are you doing out here? I thought something happened to you", I ask her concerned.

"Ummm", I watch as she scratches her hair that's piled up in a big mess on top of her head. "I came out for a swim and somehow managed to lock myself out. I guess I fell asleep waiting for you guys to get home." Her lips curve up into a tiny smile, tugging at something inside of me.

"Ohhhh", I huff out, and before I can resist the urge I pull her into my arms. Her body tenses up but for a brief moment she hugs me back before taking her tiny arms away from my waist. I'm shocked to say the least considering the most I've done is touch her arm or pat her leg since I first saw her a couple months ago.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you", she utters quietly as she slinks back down onto the chair, keeping her eyes down. I see the look on her face change into a grimace when she notices that the towel slid down, exposing her scars and quickly covers herself back up. I bet if it wasn't dark I'd be able to see a blush creeping up her cheeks.

Feeling awkward, I shove my hands into my pockets and change the subject. "So, what is this news you have for me?"

"Oh yeah", she smiles again. "I'm gona be moving out. I signed the lease to an apartment today."

"Wow! Really?"


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N So sorry for taking so long to update, summer sure is keeping me busy! A big thank you to all of you lovely readers and reviewers, you guys are awesome! SHOUT-OUTS ****FangedCutie****- yes things have gotten so much better for Anna huh? Hmm, maybe her and Kendall just might end up getting together, who knows? Aww shucks, your compliments are too much! 3 XD ****child who is cool****- great review XD ****Ileana****- You are so welcome, I can imagine you get that a lot about your name :p Well my dear, you shall have your answer now XD ****BigTimeStarKid1****- Hey your reviews are never late, and anyway they are not required so you have nothing to apologize for! Yeah, Kendall's really sweet and protective of her isn't he? I'm glad you can't wait to read more and here's more so enjoy! Hope things are going well for you with school and everything! XD ****anon****- I updated, but sorry I kept you hanging so long! XD ****Boysboysboys love em****- Ahhh I'm horrible for leaving it like that huh? :p I really dig your idea about letting her and Kendall run into eachother naked, I'll see what I can do, but just be patient my dear. haha i would pay good money to watch you beat Justin with that sock o butter! You are hilarious and your reviews are totally epic, i love you girl! XD ****Logan's Honey Pie****- Yeah the guys and Kendall totally care about Anna. They're just too much huh? You actually may be surprised by what you read in this chapter! XD**

**Anna's POV**

"So how did it go last night when you told them?", Jessica asks as she wades into the pool. I know she was referring to last night when I told Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and James that I would be moving out. Of course she was the first person I told, I called her yesterday directly after I signed the lease.

Today the guys all had stuff to take care of and attend to so I was left alone with Josh to watch over me, and I invited Jessica over for a swim. I run my hands through the water, letting it engulf my arms so I could get used to the cool temperature. "Well, it was better than I thought. I could tell Kendall wasn't too happy about it but he didn't freak out and yell like I was expecting him to."

"Really?", she questions sounding kind of shocked.

I nod my head and give a tiny giggle. "Yeah. But this morning all the guys came to me one by one and had a little chat about it. They're all concerned and think I should wait until after the court date in two weeks to see if Justin gets sent to jail or not. I think Kendall may have had something to do with that."

"Hmm well what did Kendall say?"

"He didn't say anything about it today but last night all he said was literally 'Wow really?' But I think he might be kind of mad. He didn't say much of anything to me at all this morning actually." My heart sinks into my stomach a little bit now that I've said this out loud. It just kind of confirms it, and I don't like the feeling of disappointing Kendall.

"I think he's just worried something will happen".

"I know and I feel bad, and I'm so very thankful for everything he's done for me, but I just feel like it's time you know? Summer will be over in a month and I've been thinking about going back to school." I take a deep breath, then dive under the water and swim until I reach the deep end of the pool.

When I come up Jessica's looking at me with a smirk on her face. "So has anything happened between you guys yet?"

I search my mind for a clue as to what she's talking about, but I come up with nothing. "Umm what do you mean?"

A sly smile decorates her face. "Nothing really. I just think he might you know...have a crush on you."

"What!", I exclaim. "That's crazy and so not true. He and I are just friends and that's all that we'll ever be."

"Hmm, well I seem to remember you had quite the crush on him when we were seventeen".

"Well that was four years ago, but it's over now. People change. I'm all grown up and besides I've been through enough crap. I will not be looking for a man anytime soon." I'm not even going to try to read anything into her words, Kendall is a great guy with a huge heart and I'd never try to do anything to ruin our friendship.

"Girl, please! He is looking fine these days if I say so myself", my friend wiggles her eyebrows, eliciting a giggle from me.

I can't deny this: his eyes are to die for, his face could rival movie stars, and his body sure isn't anything to complain about from what I've seen of him shirtless a handful of times. "Yeah, but still", I respond stupidly.

My friend rolls her eyes. "Anyway, you wanna talk about fine? James. James Diamond is just unf", she says biting her lip. "Is he seeing anyone that you know of?"

I widen my eyes in mock horror at her statement. "You didn't come here to see me! You're just using me to get to James", I joke and splash water at her.

She laughs and splashes me back and it of course turns into a full blown water fight until we're both worn out and just laying back on the loungers. Jessica starts asking me about the bonfire she invited me to go tonight, wondering if I'm going.

"Ahhh, I don't know", I answer.

"Come onnnnnnn", she half whines, a bunch of people we went to school with will be there and I really miss hanging out with you. All we do is chill here. Not that it's not nice or anything, I just think you need to get out and be around people. You're like a hermit."

"I am not a hermit", I defend myself. I just kind of feel a bit uncomfortable yano? It's not like I'm used to being around people and conversating.

"I know but it's gonna be okay. I'll be there, and you need to have some fun. What are you so afraid of?"

I take a moment to think it over and decide why not? I spent enough time letting Justin keep me locked away and hey I could stand to have a bit more of a social life than the guys of Big Time Rush. They are good company but I do kinda miss my old friends. "Okay fine. I'll go", I agree.

...

I walk along the shore, and smile when the water runs up over the tops of my feet. It's been a really fun time tonight and I'm glad I came. Josh was rather hesitant about me going on without him, but I told him I'd be with Jessica and besides he couldn't really tell me no; I am an adult. I did leave a note for the guys telling them I'd be fine and I'm going to a bonfire. Along the course of the night I've ran into many old friends and met several new people, and not once did I feel unsafe or out of place. Someone had an iPod and speakers hooked up, we played Limbo, roasted marshmallows and hot dogs, and all kinds of other snacks were brought along as well. I look towards the fire at the twenty something people that I've mingled with. Most of them were drinking alcohol and beer, and I honestly have no urge to drink that stuff after seeing what it turned Justin into everyday.

I turn to face the water and listen on as the waves crash, every so often a laugh or someone yelling could be heard coming from the direction of the fire. I see a figure coming towards me, with a familiar gait and as it gets closer I realize it's Kendall. The first thing that runs through my mind is he's mad and now he's coming to make me come home. I would have felt rather annoyed if it weren't for the smile on his face. "Hey", he calls and shoves his hands into his pockets.

"Hey you", I respond. "What's up?"

"Nothing", he shrugs. "Got your note when we got home and I thought I'd come check things out."

"Kendall, you don't need to check up on me. I'm fine", I motion around with my hands. "If I wasn't, I definitely would have called you or Josh."

"I know, I know", the blonde defends himself. "Maybe I just wanted to come have a little fun for myself."

We continue strolling along. "Oh ok. Sorry I was a little out of line there". I offer a smile with my apology.

"No worries, Anna. And you have nothing to apologize for, I know I've been overbearing." Kendall stops and takes a breath. "And I'm sorry about giving you the cold shoulder this morning. I just...worry yano? About I'm kinda scared about you moving out and all. I just want you to be safe."

I nod my head. "Yeah. And about that." I chew on my bottom lip and wrap my arms around myself when a cold breeze blows through. I forgot how cool it can get on the beach at night and all I'm wearing is a green sundress. "They guys have a point, which I know you were the brains behind the idea. And, I'll go ahead and wait and see what happens with Justin."

I see Kendall rock back and forth on the balls of his feet, and even the darkness can't hide the widening of his eyes. "I can live with that. Oh my gosh, is that a dress you're wearing?", he questions trying to change the subject and places a hand on my shoulder before letting it trail down the length of my arm, causing goosebumps to pop up. "Hey are you cold?", he asks.

"Actually yeah it is, and I am", I admit. Besides prom, I don't think Kendall has ever seen me wear a dress. I don't know why I feel embarrassed, but I feel my cheeks heat up.

Before I can halt him, he pulls his hoodie off and slides it over my head. I push my arms through the sleeves and sigh as I'm enveloped by the warmth of his still lingering body heat on the thick fabric. "There ya go. Better?", he smirks.

"Absolutely", I respond and pull my long hair out of the back of the shirt. "But won't you get cold?"

"Nah I'm good", he replies with a wave of his hand.

"Well thank you". This is one of the things I adore about Kendall, he's so willing to give up anything to make someone else happy or comfortable.

"Don't mention it. So did ya have fun tonight?"

"Mhmm, I sure enough did."

By the time we get back to where everyone else is, they are all coupled up and making out. Kendall and I look at eachother awkwardly. "Ummm, you wanna get out of here?", he asks and I couldn't be more grateful for his suggestion.

"Definitely", I respond. "Let me find Jess and tell her I'll be leaving with you." He nods and I search through different people until I find her, she's sucking face with a dark haired guy.

"Hey Jess", I call to her.

It takes a minute for her to pry her lips from the dude's and she looks at me. "Yeah?", she slurs.

"I'm heading home with Kendall. Enjoy the rest of your evening", I tell her.

She giggles, then whistles. "Go get you some girl! I knew you liked him."

"Whatever and it's not even like that. He's just driving me home since you're a little...preoccupied", I retort. "Anyway be safe, I love you chick. Call me tomorrow".

"Will do", she says and lifts herself on the tips of her toes to play some more tonsil hockey.

I walk back to Kendall shaking my head and laughing at my friend. "What?", he asks when I reach him.

"Nothing, she was just being silly", I answer.

"Oh ok, ready?"

"Yup", I answer.

...

After we get back to the house, we go our separate ways and I run upstairs to get a shower. I hear loud moans and groans coming from Logan's room while I put on my lotion and quickly get dressed into a pair or pajama shorts and a matching tank. When I get finished with that I sprint down the hallway to my room and turn the t.v. on and up really loud, blocking out the sounds of Logan and whoever he's with having sex. I leave my hair down to dry naturally and lean back on the pillows on my bed to flip through the channels. I go through all the channels at least four times before settling on _The Notebook._ I've seen it like eight times but I enjoy it.

About five minutes pass when I hear a knock at the door. "Come in", I say to whomever it is and watch as Kendall enters my room. He looks like he's dressed for bed wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt.

"Hey. What's up?", I ask.

He twists his face all up. "Can I hang in here with you for a while cause my room is right next to Logan's and let me tell you, that shit is loud".

I can't help but to giggle, every so often I can still hear a noise. "Sure. I'm just watching a movie."

"Cool. What is it?", he asks and walks over to my bed where he proceeds to sit next to me, stretching his legs out and leaning back with his hands behind his head.

"The Notebook", I reply.

"Ugh a chick flick", he groans.

"Well Mr., if you don't like it, then you can just go right back to your own room", I tease.

"Okay fine", he faux huffs and shuts up. We talk a bit here and there and the movie's almost over and no matter how many times I see it, it always makes me cry. I try to hold back the tears but the muscles in my jaw are so tense and tight it hurts, so I give up and let them come trickling out. I turn my head a bit to the side hoping Kendall doesn't see my crying and bite down on my bottom lip to keep quiet. The credits begin rolling and I wipe hastily at my face so Kendall won't see, but I realize it's too late.

"Are you crying?"

I just keep my head down and nod. I don't pride myself much on crying, Justin used to tell me that it's weak. "Aww my Anna Banana is getting all girly on me", he mocks in a baby voice and pulls me into his shoulder.

I only rest my head there long enough to swipe at the few remaining tears with the back of my hand before telling him, "Shut up", and pushing at him playfully. The movie is so touching and heartwarming, it always makes me wonder if true love like that really does exist. And it's so romantic and leaves me thinking. "Kendall, can I ask you something?"

"Umm, you just did", he replies sarcastically with a smirk.

I roll my eyes. "Seriously Kendall."

"Okay, hit me", he says.

I could have chosen to be a smart ass back and literally hit him, but I choose not to. "Don't laugh cause I am completely serious, okay?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Do you think true love exists, and on a level that high like in the movie?"

He's quiet for a moment and I watch his eyes move and his lips scrunch to the side around as he thinks it over. "Yeah. I do."

"Have you ever been in love?"

He shakes his head up and down. "Yeah I have actually. Besides those little high school relationships, I had one relationship that lasted just short of two years."

"With who?", I'm curious.

"Well", he starts. "I guess you never did meet her because you were with Justin and closed off from the rest of the world. Her name was Kelsey."

"Tell me about it. What happened?"

Kendall turns to face me and plays with his fingers as he speaks. "Well we had a great love, at least I thought we did. You know like you see in movies?"

I nod silently, encouraging him to continue. "She was really sweet and funny. We moved in together after like two months and live happily for the next year and a half until I wake up one morning to find a note from her." He pauses and I look down at my crossed legs in front of me. I can hear the pain in his voice when he starts back up. "It said she was leaving, she was moving to New York. She always was into fashion and I guess you know over there on the east coast has better opportunities than here. I don't know, like she never really gave me a reason. Apparently clothes were more important than us, than our relationship. I would've never held her back, but it would've been nice to have been told in person."

I nod and offer up a tiny smile as I rub his forearm. "I'm sorry", I tell him softly. I feel bad for bringing it up and making him talk about.

"Don't be. Love is a great thing when you have a good person to share it with. If two people are committed and want it, it can grow and be beautiful. But it takes a lot of work. Anywho, enough of me acting like a girl. How about you? Have you ever been in love?"

"Well", I begin. "I've had my fair share of crushes and dated Bobby Hulse and Chris Greer in high school, then there was Justin. So I THINK I've been in love, but I'm not one hundred percent sure. But now that I think back on it, I wasn't really in love with Justin, I don't love him. That was just infatuation, I found him when things were bad so I kinda just clinged yano?"

"Yeah. I understand but that's all over now."

"Yup", I state.

We look at eachother quietly for a minute before Kendall breaks it. "Okay that got kinda heavy. We're sounding like old ladies eating Ben & Jerry's in their rockers."

I burst out laughing at his comment before getting halfway serious. "Hey!", I come up to my knees on the bed. "Don't knock Ben & Jerry's cause I'm telling you that stuff has magical powers!"

"Pfft!", he scoffs and I pick up the pillow behind me and hit him on top of the head and start giggling. "Hey, you're gonna pay for that!", he exclaims as he pushes my back down onto the bed and starts tickling my sides.

I shriek, scream, and giggle until tears are running down my face as I squirm, trying to get out of his grasp. I start kicking and one of my knees hits him hard enough for him to stop briefly, just long enough for me to wiggle away to the edge of the bed. Kendall grabs hold of my foot and starts tickling, and I once again start kicking trying to break free when all of a sudden I fall off the bed and land on my stomach.

"Holy crap are you okay?", he asks, concern tinging his voice.

I roll over and push my now damp hair out of my face. "No I'm dead. Get real Kendall, I'm not made of glass". Next I stick my tongue out at him and watch as his arms come up over his head, his hands clutching the same pillow I hit him with. I take this opportunity to yank his arms and pull him down off the bed. My friend lands next to me and I laugh at the expression on his face. I turn my head to the side to look at him, noticing just how handsome he is. My eyes go back and forth between his gorgeous eyes and his plush pink lips and I get the urge to kiss him.

His face is serious, he's just staring back at me, an intense look in his eyes. I don't know if my eyes are playing tricks on me or not but it seems as though his face is slowly moving towards mine. On instinct I close my eyes and lick my lips, ready for his kiss if that's what his intentions are.

That idea is stopped short though when we hear a knock on my door and then it comes open. Kendall rolls away and I sit up, careful not to look at him. "Hey guys", Logan says. "Umm, I just wanted to let you know that we're...erm, uhh done. So it's probably safe for you to go back to your room now Kendall. Sorry for the inconvenience", he apologizes.

I climb up onto my bed and answer back, "No worries."

I finally dare to look at Kendall and he waves and calls out "Goodnight", before stepping past Logan.

"Night", I call back, feeling kinda relieved.

Logan's eyebrows shoot up and his lips curve up into his signature smirk. "What?", I ask him.

"You and Kendall? Is something going on?" This is the second time I've been called out on this today and I don't quite understand it.

"Haha, no Logan. We were just watching a movie and had a bit of a tickle fest. It was completely innocent."

"Mhmm yeah", he retorts.

"Oh shut up", I joke and throw a pillow at him. "Go to bed. I'm sure you're worn out from your festivities tonight loverboy", I joke and stick my tongue out at him.

Logan moves his eyes up to the ceiling as if he's remembering something and he buffs his nails on the front of his shirt. He wiggles his eyebrows and goes, "Oh yea. Goodnight, Anna".

"Goodnight, Logan", I tell him as I get up and go across the room to flip the lightswitch off and close the door.

My mind wanders a bit after I lay back on the pillows and climb under the blanket. Do other people see something Kendall and I don't? And what was up with the way my heart started racing and my tummy did a flip flop when I though he was going to kiss me? Did I even really want him to kiss me? Do I like Kendall more than a friend? Does he like me? I scoff at myself for even having these silly thoughts. Kendall would never think of me as more than a friend, and anyway I'm pretty jaded.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Another chapter ladies...it's not the most exciting, but things will pick up next chappy for sure! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far and I want to give a big thanks to those of you reading and reviewing my stories. THANK YOU! SHOUT-OUTS ****BigTimeFan50****- Hehehe, I can't give out any answers, but I'm glad you liked the idea! XD ****Boysboysboys love em****- bahaha glad u like Logan and his 'adventures'. A naked ticklefest huh? Me likey! XD ****Ileana****-haha Logan is a dirty dude huh? I'm glad you liked that chappy XD ****BigTimeSTarKid1-**** Darn it Logan, did ya really have to interrupt that? *shakes fist* LOL, glad you liked that, and we haven't talked in a while now, i had phone issues but all is well now, so feel free to hit me up whenever! *hug* I miss talking to you, hope everything is well at home and school XD ****Logans Honey Pie****- haha Logan, what can i say? *smh* and The Notebook, turns me into a blubering idiot for sure, I just love it! Yay for Anna and Kendall, things are looing up, i guess you could say? XD ****Guest****- hahaha i love your excitement! I'm glad about Justin as well, and who knows what's in store for Anna and Kendall XD ****child who is cool-**** great review! ****FangedCutie****- Glad you liked the chappy, I'm inclined to believe that something could possibly be stirring...so happy i could make you laugh about Logan. And thanks fo ryour compliments, they always make me feel fantabulous XD **

**Anna's POV**

I laugh as I look at a sleeping Carlos, who's back is laying on the floor with his legs sprawled up on the couch. An empty beer bottle rests in his relaxed hand and he's wearing only a pair of board shorts; I'd be willing to bet anything that they're still damp from all the time he spent in the pool, that boy is like a fish and swims any chance he gets.

Logan met a chick and spent the evening chatting her up, flirting mercilessly. For the second half of the night their lips seemed glued to eachother's, and their hands began to get curious. The blonde girl and Logan left just a short while ago, I'm sure they're headed to her house to hook up, unless they couldn't make it that far and pulled over on the side of the road somewhere, or there's even the possibility they're out doing the dirty in one of the big bushes out on the front lawn.

Poor James passed out quite some time ago, when apparently the large quanitity of shots he consumed from losing all the drinking games caught up with him. After he barfed all over the downstairs bathroom, Kendall and Carlos helped him get a shower and put him in his bed. I sat with him for a few minutes as he complained and whined, and ran my fingers through his hair to try to soothe him until he fell asleep. After putting a trash can next to his bed I covered him up and started doing clean-up duty from the big Labor Day barbeque/party we had tonight.

As for Kendall, my blonde friend disappeared some time ago to do who knows what, but that's typical for him. He tends to need time to himself every once in a while and I respect that.

After accumulating two large bags of garbage just from cleaning the living room and kitchen alone, I look out to the patio with another big black trash bag hanging from my hand and sweep my eyes over the damage. It's pretty tore up with trash littering the patio, a few Solo cups are floating in the pool. I groan and decide to tackle the chore tomorrow, ready to call it quits for the evening. These guys know how to party and have a great time, but at the first mention of the word clean, they all disappear and don't emerge for hours. Yeah, they're typical guys but I love them just as they are.

With a yawn, I drape the unused trashbag over the door handle and carry my weary body up the stairs to take a shower before going to bed. I grab some pajamas and head to the bathroom where I take a quick shower, get dressed, and comb my hair. My feet drag on the carpet as I make my way down the hallway, the only thing on my mind is hopefully getting a good night's sleep. As I get closer, I hear noises coming from Kendall's room and decide to take a peek in through the half open door. He's sitting on the edge of his bed playing the mysterious song that I've heard on several occasions, the one that always seems to get stuck in my head.

I watch for a brief moment, not knowing how to feel or what to say. I've felt odd for the past few weeks since we almost kissed. Kendall didn't act out of the ordinary or anything, he kept everything normal and the same as before which I am grateful for. I however can't say the same for myself. I didn't purposely try to avoid him, but I have tried to keep a little bit of distance from him. After that night, and lots of thinking, I came to the realization that I am indeed in love with Kendall. I miss him and the closeness we have, but my emotions are all over the place, and these aren't feelings I should be having about my best friend.

His smooth voice fills the room and his face is relaxed as he strums. I hear him start singing along and curiosity fills my mind, urging me to step into his room, to get a better listen to the lyrics. "I wish you could see your face right now, you're grinning like a fool. We're sitting on the kitchen floor on a Tuesday afternoon..."

I thought I was being quiet as I creeped in further until the floor creaked loudly, causing Kendall to stop playing and toss a look in my direction. I lean my back against the wall and cross my arms over my chest, quirking an eyebrow up at him. "What?", he asks and stands up, walking to his guitar stand and setting the instrument down before moving back to his bed to take a seat.

"Who's the girl?" I ask, trying to spark up a conversation.

"What girl?", he asks.

"Don't play dumb, Kendall. That is a love song, and obviously about a girl. So who is she?"

He sighs and replies, "Well, I guess you could say that I have a bit of a crush on someone."

My heart sinks a little at his confession, but I refuse to let it show. Instead I smile and reply, "Really? Why didn't you tell me?"

He shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know."

"Tell me about her", I insist. His lips curve into a smile and he pats the bed next to him. I saunter over and sit on the spot, crossing my legs in criss cross applesauce style before taking a glimpse at his face.

He gets a faraway look is in his eyes and begins, "She's really pretty-no scratch that she's beautiful, and has the cutest laugh."

"What else?", I encourage him.

"She umm...she's just awesome. She's shy though, but in the most adorable way. She always makes me laugh and she smells good. I just have a hard time keeping focused when she's around because all I can think about it kissing her." Kendall is a hopeless romantic and my heart swells as I listen to him gush about her. Whoever she is, she's one lucky girl and if she doesn't see the great person he is, then it's her loss. I'm not jealous because I know that Kendall and I are just friends. Even though I like him, I want him to be happy. He deserves someone who will make him smile.

"Aww, that's great. So why don't you make a move? Go for it Kendall." I push at his arm in a playful manner.

"I don't know. Maybe. It's just confusing". I raise an eyebrow in question.

"What is?"

"Well", he starts and then pauses. "Kelsey's been texting me for a few days".

I gasp. "And you're just now telling me?"

"Yeah", he says dryly and runs a hand through his dirty blonde hair. "I just don't know what to think, she wants to get back together. But I'm mixed up about everything. I told her I need to take some time to think it over."

"Well that's a good start. And I might not be the best at giving advice, but don't just settle Kendall. You only have one life to live, you have to make it count."

"Yeah, enough about my dilemma", he responds, then nudges my side. "So anyway, I heard you got asked out tonight."

He wiggles his eyebrows at me, making me giggle. "Actually I did", I tell him, and feel a little flushed. For some reason attention from men always makes me a bit embarrassed. "It's Steve Holland, I don't know if you remember him, or even know him, but he asked to take me to dinner and I accepted."

Kendall gives me a funny look and tilts his head to the side. "Don't you think it's a little...soon?"

I don't know why but I get defensive it's not like I'm doing something wrong. "Chillax DAD", I say sarcastically and throw my hands up in front of me as I roll my eyes in a dramatic fashion. "It's just a friendly thing. Food and getting to know eachother. Besides I'm not looking for anything serious right now." I leave out the fact that he himself is the reason why I'm not interested in a romantic relationship with Steve.

His shoulders relax and I see just how much he cares, which is why a sudden rush of guilt floods my body. "I just worry you know?"

I take a deep breath and curl my arm around his upper arm. "Yes, Kendy, I know. But Justin is the least of my worries right now. And I need to be normal, to live again." Now I don't have to worry about Justin, we had our court date last week and he was found guilty, and sentenced to ten years in prison. I won't lie it was rough seeing him again but I knew he wouldn't be able to get to me, to hurt me, to do whatever. And I found that I can breathe easie knowing he's locked away, and I know I allowed him to take advantage of me and treat me how he wanted. But I'm leaving that all behind me, and I'm ready to move on. Dating is a normal aspect of life, and I'm ready. Ready to experience things and see what life has in store for me.

...

**Kendall's POV**

"Okay", I agree with a huff. "But only because I haven't heard anything bad about him. And if he hurts you in any way or makes you cry, he's gonna have to answer to me." I watch Anna shake her head, her long hair swaying back and forth as she gives a laugh.

"You couldn't stop me anyway, but it's a deal", she states.

"Hey", I tease while I turn to her and mockingly cross my arms over my chest while jutting out my lower lip.

"Aww it's not a bad thing", Anna pushes at my chest lightly, then her hand drops to my leg. "You've got a good heart, and trust me that's a good thing, something you don't see very often these days."

I clutch at my heart, earning another shove to my chest and she erupts into a fit of laughter before her eyes drop down to her legs. I watch as she plays with an imaginary piece of lint on her leg. She's quiet and I can almost see the gears turning in her head. "Hey dork", I poke her shoulder. "What ya thinkin about?"

Her face is serious when she lifts her head and she sighs. "Kendall, I've made a decision and you might not be too happy about it."

Confusion blurs my mind for a moment, but I come up with nothing. "Umm, care to tell me what you're talking about?", I ask.

"I'm moving into my new apartment and I'm going back to school. That starts up in about a week." I notice she doesn't really look into my eyes and I feel bad. I can see that she doesn't want to disappoint me after what happened last time and that makes me feel like shit.

My mind wanders to events over the past weeks, and I have to admit that she's almost back to the old Anna from high school. She is a lot happier than when I found her a few months ago, and she's getting back on her feet quite nicely. I've even seen an improvement since just last week, and I can't hold her back from picking her life back up. "I'm proud of you", I tell her in complete honesty.

Her green eyes widen in surprise and her mouth hangs open before she responds. "Really? You're not gonna give me shit about it?"

I shake my head and tighten my lips. "Nope. I'm proud of you, Anna. You're much stronger than I ever gave you credit for."

A look I can't place crosses her face and she just utters a "thank you", like she can't believe what I'm saying.

"I mean I'm not saying that I want you to move out, or that you have to. I just understand. And I don't want to see anything bad happen to you after everything you've been through already."

I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't shocked by what happens next. Anna practically throws herself into my arms, resting her head on my chest. "Thank you for everything you've done for me, Kendall. I want you to know that I appreciate it all, and I don't know how I'll ever be able to re-pay you."

I wrap my arms around her, touched by her actions and the sincerity of her words. "Just keep our friendship strong. Don't let it fall apart or push it to the backburner like you did two years ago."

"I'm so sorry for that. I'll never let it happen again. I promise". And with that, she pushes herself upright with her palms on my chest.

There's nothing left for me to say because I know that she means it, so I speak what's in my heart and know I don't have to be judged or made fun of for it. "I'll miss you."

Anna yawns. "I'll miss you, too. But it's late and I'm gonna head to bed now. Goodnight Kendall." Anna raises herself up on her knees and places a kiss on my cheek before sliding off the bed and walking away.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Back again here. A BIG thank you to all of you readers and reviewers, you just don't know how awesome reviews make me feel, plus the great motivation they provide, so THANK YOU! SHOUT-OUTS- ****child who is cool****- great review XD ****annabellex2****- I'm glad you still like it, who knows what'll happen next XD ****BigTimeStarKid1****- Aww, i'm so happy that enjoy all the little moments, he is so sweet huh? I'm glad you liked the song, it's a really awesome song. And I sure hope you like this chapter XD ****jackiex3****- haha awww, i'm glad you love all my stories, even if it is way too much XD ****BigTimeFan50****- Hmm your questions will be answered in due time, just hang tight XD ****Guest1****- hehe aww thx, i'm glad you think this story is so good and that my work is amazing, i give it my all XD ****Logan's Honey Pie****- oh yea it was quite the party! Yes Anna is in love...all things that are supposed to happen will in time XD ****DeniseDEMD****- okay so i am totally loving all your reviews and favorites and everything that concerning my stories the past few days...makes me feel awesome! ****HuskyLuver****- did you change your name? Good for Anna, she's moving onto better things in her life. Haha yea not all guys are like that, but most of them have no interest in cleaning XD ****Ileana****- Hehe i'm glad you thought the chapter was cute...keep reading to find your answers XD ****Guest2****- Awww, things never happen as simply as they need to...glad to get your review today as I was hoping to update today XD **

**Anna's POV**

I slam the door to my apartment closed behind me and throw my purse onto the counter before trudging off to my room and taking my dress off. Besides being overly stressed from moving and starting school, I had a horrible day; and the only thing on my mind is changing into some comfortable clothes and eating some chocolate ice cream. I dress in a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top and proceed to the kitchen where I take a bowl out of the cabinet and a spoon, and place them on the counter. Next I go to the freezer and get the ice cream out, then scoop the sweet treat until my bowl is overfilled. I'm on the way back to putting the carton away when something colorful sitting on top of the table catches my eye. With curiosity at what it is, I walk to the table to focus on a single purple flower laying there. Confusion sets in for a brief moment before I shift my gaze to the living room, and see Kendall sitting on the recliner. He smiles and waves at me, making me jump back in surprise and gasp because I surely wasn't expecting anyone to be here, and I have no idea how I managed to miss him sitting there.

Looking at his familiar face somehow sends all the feelings I've been pushing down to come bubbling up to the surface and before I'm able to stop myself, I start crying. I don't know what it is about Kendall, just his presence draws it out of me, like he's my safety net. Embarrassed, I turn away not wanting him to see me like this but I should've known better. In mere seconds, Kendall's arms wrap around me and I lay my head on his chest, letting the tears fall freely. I fist my hands into his shirt at his sides while I think about all the events that happened today.

_ It all started when I woke up late for college after a long, insomnia filled night. Being that today was only the second day of school, I didn't want to make that kind of impression to my professor. After brushing my teeth and taking the world's quickest shower, I grabbed my dress from my closet and folded it neatly, then placed it into a bag to take with me, as I wouldn't have enough time to go home and change before my date with Steve. At long last I was ready to be on my way when the stupid car started acting up and wouldn't start, so I had to get a jump from my neighbor and figured I'd worry about what to do later after school. _

_ When I arrived at school, I realized that I had somehow managed to forget my supplies, and the professor wasn't too happy about that. I skated my way through the rest of that class and through the other, glad to have the date with Steve to look forward to. I hadn't had anything to eat, and decided to grab an apple from the cafeteria to tide me over when I was texting Jess. This apparently wasn't the smartest thing to do because I wasn't paying attention to what was going on in front of me and I ran smack into some big guy, and trust me when I say he was BIG. I fell onto my knees hard and on his way to help me back up, the dude tipped his can of soda, which spilled down my chest. He apologized but I brushed it off and cleaned myself up the best I could in the bathroom, and applied my make-up and fixed my hair the best I could before changing into the dress I brought. _

_ Once that was accomplished, I headed to my car and was surprised when it started without any problems. Taking that as a good sign for my date with Steve, I began my trek to the restaurant. I won't deny being excited to see Steve again, he is a pretty attractive guy with the potential to possibly turn into something more, I just needed to take things slowly and see where they would lead. That idea was quickly dashed when not even five minutes into the date, Steve's eyes couldn't seem to stay off my chest. And then he told me he wouldn't mind being friends with benefits. It didn't take long for me to shoot him down and he retaliated by going on a rant. He actualy scoffed, and then his exact words were, "Whatever, you're fucked up and no one else is gonna want you anyway. I mean, everybody knows what a whack job you are."_

I go on to finish up the story, being careful to omit the part about Steve. "And as if all that wasn't bad enough, my stupid car broke down two blocks away and I had to walk the rest of the way home."

Of course his response would be, "Why didn't you call me? And what happened with the date?"

Damn Kendall and his fabulous memory. The details are too humiliating for me to share with him, so I just try to act like I'm not bothered by it. "I thought the walk would help me calm down. As for the date, let's not talk about it, it just didn't go well. We'll leave it at that". I pull away from Kendall who is stroking my hair and wipe at my eyes. "Sorry it all just kinda built up", I say shyly.

"Hey, no worries. About Steve...do I need to go whoop his ass?"

This makes me giggle a bit. "No he's not worth it", I tell him. "But I'm feeling better now. Thanks", I tell him honestly.

Kendall looks as if he doesn't quite believe me, but I flash him a smile to show that I am. "So anyway", I say while shaking my head to clear my thoughts. "Not that I mind, but why are you here? I kind of wasn't expecting you".

"Aww, that hurts", he says and clutches at his chest and chuckles. "Well, Logan brought home a girl...", his voice trails off.

"I see", I state and cross my arms over my chest and tap my foot on the floor mockingly. I understand, and after what happened last time I don't blame him for wanting to get out of there, but I like playing with him. "So what's up with the flower?", I point behind me.

Kendall stuffs his hands into his pockets and shrugs with a smirk. "Can't I just bring a flower to my friend who's totally awesome?"

I pretend to think about it for a second. "Well when you put it that way, I'll accept your bribe". I wink and he does his happy dance.

"Yay. So what shall we do?", my blonde friend asks.

"Hmm, well I was gonna eat my ice cream and play Dance Central. You're welcome to join me if you want." I love to dance, and what better way to rid some stress than shaking what my mama gave me?

"Sounds great to me, girlfriend", Kendall replies in a high pitched voice, imitating a girl. "After that we can order pizza and overload on calories." His hands go out in front of him and his face lights up. "Next we'll paint eachother's nails and gossip about boys. Then we'll watch a romantic, mushy chick flick and gush over the leading hunk."

I shake my head as I let my laugh subside. "You've got it, and I'm totally holding you to all of the stuff you mentioned." He cringes playfully, and I grab the bowl of ice cream from the counter and sit on the couch, patting it next to me for Kendall to come sit.

Forty five minutes later he collapses back onto said couch, panting and red faced. Once we devoured the ice cream, we played through like eight different songs and I beat Kendall on all of them. With pride, I prance to the kitchen and grab two bottles of water before re-joining him on the couch and handing one to my parched friend. Neither one of us say anything as we try to catch our breath, but it seems as if the temperature in the room rises twenty degrees when Kendall lifts the hem of his white t-shirt and brings it up to wipe sweat from his brow. His toned abs come out for a quick game of peek-a-boo and I question if maybe the week away from him was good or bad, because it seems like the sight of him just sends my hormones into overdrive. I try not to stare, but I feel almost deprived; having gone from living with four men to living alone. I turn away in hopes that he didn't see me checking him out, and suggest that we call to order the pizza now.

We order a large; half pepperoni for Kendall, and half just cheese for me since I'm a vegetarian. Once the order has been placed I turn to him and joke, "So, I'd say now would be a good time to bring out the nail polish", and wiggle my eyebrows.

"You're on, BUT I'm gonna have to protest when it comes to you painting my nails".

"Okay fine", I fake huff. I really wasn't going to paint his nails anyway, I was just having fun with him. "But you know you don't really have to right?" I feel bad, I don't want him to think he was obligated, so I wave my hand he scoffs.

"No, I said I would and I will". I kinda sit there for a minute not believing my ears until he pats my leg and tells me to go get my stuff. Taking his direction, I run to my room and rummage through a box until I find my nail supplies and pick out a color and toe separators before sprinting back to the living room. I set the items down on the coffee table, then take a seat back down on the couch and Kendall gets up and sits down on the carpet in front of me.

He takes one of my feet in his hands and inserts the toe separator between my toes and proceeds to paint my nails. I squirm here and there, feeling somewhat ticklish when he touches certain spots of my feet. After two coats were applied, Kendall asks, "What happened here?" His finger points to my knee. Before I can figure out what he's referring to, he touches my bruised knee and I look down to it.

I scowl at the ugly dark bruise that's already formed from when I fell this morning. I remind Kendall what happened and before I know what he's doing, his lips press against the sensitive skin on my knee, making goosebumps pop up all over my body. It was a simple act, a touching gesture, but my body was screaming for more. "Better?", he asks.

I search my brain frantically for something to say, hoping he wouldn't notice my odd behavior when the doorbell rings. _Saved by the bell_, I think and breathe out a sigh of relief when he hops up to pay for the food.

Once that was all taken care of, Kendall and I sat together on the couch eating and watching the first Harry Potter movie, which I might add is one of my favorite series until I feel my eyes starting to droop. It had been a long day and I guess it's time for me to call it a night. I sit up and ask Kendall if he's sleeping over. With a quick check of the time he realizes it's late and decides it's best to stay here. Since the bed in my guest room hasn't been put together already, Kendall agrees to sleep on the couch. I bring him a pillow from my bed and an extra blanket, then bid him goodnight before going to take a shower.

A while later I'm lying in bed wide awake, despite being so tired earlier. For the past hour I've been rolling around, trying to get settled but my mind won't seem to shut off. Feeling thirsty, I remove myself from the bed and tip-toe down the hallway, through the living room, and finally to the kitchen. I'm halfway through the small kitchen when I slam into something; a brief glimpse of the shadow confirms that it's Kendall. I bounce back but am caught at my hips by his hands. Gripping onto his upper arms to steady myself, the heat of his hands through the thin fabric of my shirt ignite something inside me and before I give myself a chance to think about what I'm doing, I lift myself up on the tips of my toes and push my lips against his.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N Another chapter my lovelies, who's ready for this? XD Okay so let me take a minute to gush and tell all you reviewers just how totally awesome and special you are. Reviews make my writing world go round and always put a smile on my face, as well as a fire under my butt...hehe. So yeah, I love you guys so much, you have no idea. A BIG THANK YOU to you all. As for you silent readers, you're appreciated as well, but don't ever be afraid to stop in and let me know how I'm doing. SHOUT OUTS **** BigTimeFan50****- *squeals* awww, i love your review, hope your freak out didn't last too long, and I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint ya XD ****jackiex3****- Yay! I'm so glad you're happy and so excited for the update! XD ****BigTimeStarKid1****- Hehe so how was the kiss? Yes girl you know I adore my cliffhangers! And Kendall, GAH too sweet isn't he? *dreamy sigh* Hope you're still liking this, and I really hope you like this chappy! XD ****annabellex2****- yes, i just had to stop there! I didn't forget about your request, I will start on that soon, just wanted to update my other stories first! XD ****Guest****- AHHH so sorry for leaving you hanging, I did my best to update ASAP, hope it's up to your standards! XD ****child who is cool****- great review, you never let me down XD ****kensare****- *jumps up and down* sorry, your excitement is just so contagious, hope you like! XD ****DeniseDEMD****-hehe thx, and uhhh, more is here...WOO-HOO! XD ****Ileana****- yes, they kissed! Wait no further my dear! XD ****Logan's Honey Pie****- Hey Kendizzle might not be the best dancer, but his hips don't lie! *drools* Kendall sweeter? Hmm, i don't know, there just might be a possibility! Haha, YES THEY KISSED! WOO-HOO! XD ****Guest who requested more more more****-hehe sorry, i don't wanna get you guys confused! More is here! WOOT! XD**

**Oh yeah this chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but it's okay...i was able to get the point across! **

**Anna's POV**

Instead of pulling away, Kendall's lips move against mine, sending desire shooting through my veins. Within seconds the kiss grows heated and Kendall's tongue snakes it's way inside my mouth. I emit a small moan when he licks at the roof of my mouth, which in turn has his much larger hands tightening their grip on me. The two of us dive right in, voraciously learning the inside of eachother's mouths until I pull away, when the need for air presents itself. I'm breathless and panting, my gaze fixed to my feet on the floor. It's one of those awkward moments where I have no clue what to say and I'm much too embarrassed to look at Kendall. His hand squeezes my hip and I dare to sneak a glance in his direction. His hair is mussed up, his face flushed, and his green eyes boring into mine are darker, filled with want; and as much as I try, I can't pull my gaze from him. Moments pass while we just stare at eachother, sexual tension hanging thick in the air. It's almost suffocating, it's raw and intense. As if he's drawn to me by a force, Kendall takes my hand. I'm in a totally different realm when he leads me to my bedroom.

Not bothering to turn on the light, Kendall makes his way to the edge of my bed, sits down, and takes his shirt off. With a nod of his head, I take the invitation to join him, straddling him by placing my legs on either side of his upright body, while holding onto him with my hands linked at the back of his neck. I sit there, content to let him take the lead since I don't have much experience. Not giving nervousness a chance to creep in, Kendall begins nipping at my lips, then he sucks at the delicate flesh before dragging his mouth down my jaw to my neck. Meanwhile I explore his chest and abs with my hands, when one harsh suck at my pulse point has me pressing my body hard against his. Kendall shows his excitement by running his hands up and down my bare thighs, until he comes dangerously close to my center. On instinct, I jerk away and freeze up.

I feel Kendall tense underneath me. "I-I'm sorry", he stutters and drops his hands to the mattress beside him. "I just kinda let things go too far too fast."

I feel like an idiot for making him feel this way, but I'm grateful for the darkness there to hide the heat flaming my cheeks. "It's not that. It's just that I've only been with Justin before", I confess. If it were possible to die from humiliation, I would be laying on the carpet without a pulse.

Kendall starts to talk again. "I didn't know-".

But I cut him off. "No. Don't talk. I want this." It's been far too long since lust has coursed through my body like this and I'm not giving up. To emphasize my words, I pull the flimsy sleep shirt off and drop it to the floor. Kendall's hesitation scares me, with his breaths just bouncing off of my chest. I duck into him and kiss my way across his left shoulder.

Kendall's arms go around my waist and turns me around, then takes hold of my face and ever so gently lays me down on my back, his body coming over mine. His mouth once again captures mine, working skillfully to build my arousal back up as his hands trail down my sides. I know the instant his hand comes in contact with the scars on my abdomen, for he hesitates for the briefest moment before tracing his fingertips over it, then lightly kissing his way over the reminder of how far I've come.

Something about it puts me at ease. It's like the universe shifts and Kendall's touches and kisses become slower, gentler, and more sensual. His lips move to my hipbone, and next to the other, all the while carressing my skin gently. He trek takes him to my navel, where he dips his tongue inside before continuing south. When Kendall reaches the waistband of my panties, he tugs at it with his teeth, letting it snap back before hooking his fingers in the fabric just underneath my hips and pulling it down my legs. I can't bring myself to care that I'm this exposed to my best friend, I've simply never wanted anything so desperately in my life.

My foot rests in Kendall's hand as he places pecks up my calf and over my knee, changing to open mouthed kisses during his ascent. With each touch, I'm becoming more intoxicated. Once he's reached my core, he moves over to my other leg and pays it the same attention, except this time he stops to suck here and there at the thin skin of my thigh. At last I feel his hot breaths at my core, where he places a tender kiss over my skin before sliding his tongue through my folds. I cry out in absolute pleasure, my senses are reeling, but he doesn't stop his work. Kendall places the bottoms of my feet on his shoulders and intertwines his fingers with mine. Back and forth, up and down between my clit and my entrance, the moist heat of his tongue licks, and it isn't long until I feel the wild fever rising up inside of me. Kendall squeezes my fingers between his, letting me know it's okay to let go. There's no fighting the inevitable, the moans coming from my mouth grow louder until my orgasm hits and my voice breaks. When I come, it's like an explosion. Fireworks go off behind my eyes and I fall into the dark tunnel of oblivion.

My body is humming and I feel like I'm floating on air. I try to steady my breathing as Kendall kisses his way back up my body, but it's not possible with the way he's massaging my breasts and teasing my nipples. Even though I've just been pleasured, an emptiness consumes me and hunger making a re-appearance. I pull him up to me by his head, until he's holding himself above me and our faces are inches apart. Kendall takes my face in his hands and whispers, "I won't hurt you". With his manhood in perfect sync with my entrance, he presses his lips to mine vaguely and with one long, slow push he fills me up. The stretching of my muscles is unbelievably delicious. Kendall makes an inaudible noise, his movements still, and his mouth comes back down to mine softly. I part my lips to let him in, his tongue circles mine several times and then he places butterfly kisses along my jawline, snapping his hips back before he takes his time thrusting into me again. I wrap my legs around to rest my feet on the back of his calves and thread my fingers gently into his hair. His thrusts stay slow and gentle, gradually building me back up by going faster and harder. I have no control over the sounds pouring from my mouth, and it doesn't matter as I'm pushed over the edge time and time again. I've never felt this good before; euphoria has nothing on the way I'm feeling.

I'm on the brink one last time, when Kendall finds his release as well. We come together, his forehead resting on my neck, and he calls out my name, softly panting. I've never felt so beautiful as I do in this moment.

We're one, laying together tangled up, every single part of our bodies are still touching. Bliss envelops my body, leaving my thoughts to run wild. We didn't just have sex, we made love. Kendall opened me up to a whole new world, what I'm experiencing exceeds anything physical. It's beyond anything I ever could have imagined. Laying here in Kendall's arms, baring my soul to him in the dark of the night is all I could ever need. It's enchanting, hypnotizing, magical. My emotions have come into play and the truth is upon me. I've been fooling myself this whole time. There is no shadow of a doubt in my mind that this is more than a crush. I love Kendall. I am completely, hopelessly in love with my best friend.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N WOO-HOO! Quick update huh? I have a bit of writer's block for UT so I thought I'd pump this one out while it was spinning around my head. Hope everyone enjoys. And again, a BIG THANK YOU to all of you lovely reviewers, I love you guys! *muah* SHOUT OUTS-****BigTimeFan50****- Aww yes, the last chapter was definitely fangirl-worthy XD ****Logan's Honey Pie**** Hehe, umm i LOVE your excitement over the last chapter *dreamy sigh* love is a wonderful thing isn't it? I hope you're able to keep your Kendall feels at bay! Haha XD ****DeniseDEMD****- Hehe, thx...I'm glad it was more than just a kiss myself XD ****Ileana-**** yes, they had sex *squeal* hehe, umm I guess you'll have to read on to see what happens next...and i'm inclined to agree with you that it did just get good XD ****Guest****- read on to find out! XD ****BigTimeStarKid1****- Your review made me say AWWW! Hehe i'm glad you liked it, i thought maybe you might be disappointed because it wasn't all that pervy, but I was aiming for emotions there so I think it went okay! Kendall has the ability to make any woman feel beautiful *sigh* Hope you're doing good and that you still like this story! XD ****annabellex2****- I'm glad you liked it! Hehe okay so I still haven't started on the James story yet, but soon, I promise! Thanks for being so understanding! *hug* XD**

**Anna's POV**

"Is Kendall coming?", Mandy asks as she watches the road in front of us.

"Umm, I don't know", I answer truthfully and get a questioning look from Mandy, who's driving. It's her, Jessica, and myself all headed to a party together.

"What do you mean you don't know?", Jessica questions.

I shrug my shoulders. "I haven't talked to him in a couple days." But I do have high hopes of seeing him tonight. We haven't talked, texted, or seen eachother since we slept together. Considering the person throwing the bash tonight is a mutual friend of ours, I'm pretty certain that Kendall will show up sometime. Knowing this fact, I took extra care getting ready tonight, picking out a green dress to wear since I know it's his favorite color, and I even put on a bit of make-up and curled my hair.

Even Mandy turns to me with a confused look on her face. It's no secret that Kendall and I are close and are best friends like we used to be.

"You hooker!", Jessica exclaims and wraps her hand around the front passenger seat I'm seated in as she scoots closer to me from her position in the backseat.

"What?", I shout and turn my head to face her.

"You slept with him didn't you?"

I'm shocked, I hadn't talked about with anyone. Heat floods my cheeks with embarrassment. "Who told you?"

"Haha", her voice raises and she claps her hands. "I fucking knew it! I called that shit a few weeks ago."

"Wait..did he tell you?"

"No".

"Then how did you find out? Oh my God, he didn't tell James did he?", I ask horrified. James and Jessica have been dating for two weeks now.

"You're just so carefree and cheerful. And you're glowing. I knew there was something different about you today, I just couldn't place my finger on it at first. But it wasn't hard to figure out."

I let out a sigh of relief, one for the fact that Kendall didn't tell her, or hopefully spill the beans to any of the other guys. The other source of my relief was actually getting it out. I mean I know having sex with someone isn't exactly a secret, but I hadn't talked to anyone about it, and it feels good to talk about it with females.

"So what happened?", Mandy asks.

"Well you know, we did it."

"Okay and what happened after that?"

"Umm, we fell asleep, but-", then I catch myself before I go too far.

"But what?"

"But he wasn't there when I woke up, he bailed on me."

"No. No way, I can't believe that."

"Would I lie about that?"

"Look, I really don't think Kendall's intentions were just to get in your pants. He's not that kinda guy. And anyway, I see the way he looks at you, you know."

Curiosity fills my mind. "What do you mean by that?"

"I think he likes you. Like, he like likes you so it's odd that he wasn't there when you woke up, but guys are weird, so yeah. As for the way he looks at you, he always seems like a lost puppy and his eyes just come to life when you're around."

Then how come I never see it? That can't be true can it? "I don't think so", I reply with a shake of my head. Then out of nowhere I blurt out, "I'm in love with him!" It sounds desperate and even a little pathetic. Mandy smiles over at me and puts a hand over her heart.

But my ever so persistent blonde friend in the backseat eggs me on. "Then you need to tall him that, because I'm pretty sure he feels the same way."

"I second that", Mandy pipes up.

My response is, "I don't know." But I know my friends are right. I can't deny that I've been floating on cloud nine since the whole incident, and I want to keep this feeling for as long as possible. It's just one of those things that's easier said than done. The scary part is that I don't know Kendall's feelings on things, and when I tell him, things will change. Either we'll move forward as a couple, or we'll go back to being just friends. I just want to stay in this moment forever, where things are good, things are okay with Kendall and I.

SEVERAL HOURS LATER

A couple hours have gone by and I've mingled with other friends, danced, and have even gotten hit on several times. Every few minutes I'm searching the rooms, waiting for Kendall to show. When I had run into Carlos about an hour ago, he confirmed that Kendall would indeed be here. We spent a few minutes chatting and catching up until Carlos ran off to flirt with a busty raven haired girl. It was nice talking to him, I haven't talked to Carlos, Logan, or James since I moved out and I miss them. During our conversation I waited for Carlos to say anything or act funny about me mentioning Kendall but nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so I'm still pretty sure he hasn't told anyone about us sleeping together.

"So tell me where have I seen you before?", I hear someone ask from behind me and I spin around to see who it is. Standing in front of me is some random dude with dark brown hair, wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. Holding myself back from screaming in frustration, I roll my eyes at the cheesy and totally unoriginal pick-up line, and am about to tell the douchebag to go fuck off when I hear a familiar voice call my name.

My heart skips a beat in my chest when it recognizes Kendall's voice, and my eyes immediately scan through mobs of people, finally stopping when it settles on my best friend's smiling face. I get quite a surprise though, when I notice a pretty woman walking beside him, with her hand clutched around his bicep. One look at her and I know it's Kelsey, from the description of her Kendall had given me. As a chick, I can't deny she's gorgeous and I can see what Kendall sees in her. She has long, flowing blonde hair and curves in all the right places; neither of which I have. A pain shoots through my chest and I feel like I need to get away fast. Another glance in their direction lets me know that they're headed my way. _Shit, _I think and avert my attention back to the douchebag guy. "So umm, what do you say we go upstairs?", I ask him , then bite down on my bottom lip, trying to be seductive. Turning my head the slightest I see Kendall out of the corner of my eye. Only thinking about numbing my pain, I snatch the red Solo cup out the man's hand in front of me that I'm sure is filled with some type of alcohol, and I drink it down. The liquid burns my throat and chest as it makes it's descent, but I don't give it another though because I can hear Kendall saying, "Hey Anna, I'd like you to meet-"

Instead of giving the douchebag a chance to respond to my question, and completely shutting Kendall out, I take his hand and yank him up the stairs as Kendall finishes his sentence. "Kelsey." I don't bother stopping to look back, I continue going up the stairs with the guy trailing behind me as if I didn't hear Kendall.

...

**Carlos's POV**

I close the door behind me and take my jacket off as I walk through the foyer, stopping to drape it over the back of the recliner before taking a seat on the couch.

Kendall jumps up from the chair he's sitting in at the dining room table and starts interrogating me. "What happened? Did you find her?"

_Everything was good at the party and a little while after until Kendall, Jessica, and Mandy were all questioning around if anyone knew where Anna was, because for some reason she wasn't answering any calls or texts, and no one could find her when it was time to leave. I took it upon myself to drive an inebriated Jessica and Mandy home, and then to Anna's on the way to my house. She didn't answer the door and it didn't appear that she was home, so I came home. A bit later I decided to go check on Anna, because I was concerned as well as everyone else. She's a really caring, kind hearted girl and besides Kendall I'm the closest person to her. So back to her apartment I went._

"Yeah, I did. Calm down, man", I usher him to come sit on the same couch I'm occupying.

My buddies eyes are wide with worry. "Where did you find her? Is she okay?"

"She's okay", I nod and decide to fill him in on what happened. "When I got there, the door was unlocked so I walked in and man was there a mess all over the place." Kendall sits up straight and I push my hand out to him, silently telling him to chill out before continuing. "She looked like she had just gotten out of the shower with her hair all wet and stuff, and she had changed, she was wearing pajamas. Well, a sleep shirt. Anyway, she was sitting on the couch crying. I went to sit next to her and asked her what's wrong. She was crying too hard to even talk so I put my arms around her, just holding her while she cried, until she pushed me away. Anna then got up from the couch, I guess you could call it half running, half staggering towards the bathroom, then she fell down. That's when I noticed she was drunk."

"But Anna doesn't drink. She can't stand alcohol after...Oh my God, it must be bad."

"Chill, and let me finish", I give my friend a stern look. He sits back down and puts his hands on his knees, nodding. "Anna turned to me and goes 'I'm gonna', but she can't finish because she starts gagging, so I pick her up and take her into the bathroom. I just got her to the toilet when she started barfing. I rubbed her back and talked to her. Dude she was there for a while, puking her guts out. Yuck it was gross. And then when she was done I helped her brush her teeth and put her into her bed. I tried to ask her again what happened, why she was so upset. Her exact words were, 'He hurt me. He said he wouldn't, but he did.' Tears started rolling down her face again, man it was rough. I was just stroking her hair and asked her, 'Who did this to you?' But she fell asleep before I could get the answer out of her."

"What the fuck!", Kendall shoots up from the couch with his fists balled up.

"I know, man", I place a hand on his shoulder. "I hated seeing her like that."

Kendall is pacing the floor, his voice is angry. "Who the hell? What? I just don't even fucking know. Who could've done something to her? She hasn't mentioned anyone. Him, he...it's a dude."

I throw my hands to my sides, feeling helpless. "I have no idea."

"Me either, but all I know is that somebody better watch the hell out!"

"You and me both man."

Out of nowhere Kendall's eyes widen and he grabs his shoes by the door. "The dude at the party!", he exclaims. "The one she went upstairs with."

Shock ran through me. "Oh my God, YES! Let's go!"

TWENTY MINUTES LATER

I watch my pissed off friend slam the dude in question against the wall. The dude's eyes are wide and he's shaking. "What did you do to Anna?" Kendall's teeth are clenched together, his long fingers wrapped around the neck of the guy in the black t-shirt.

"Wh-what are y-you t-talking about?", he stutters around, responding to Kendall's question with one of his own.

"The brunette you went upstairs with. She was wearing a green dress."

"Dude, nothing happened". His voice is high pitched, fear evident in his voice.

"Then why did she say someone hurt her? Don't you fucking lie to me", I watch Kendall push him further into the wall as if that were even possible. My hands are crossed over my chest as I watch my blonde friend handle his business, I might have to step in if he doesn't calm down soon.

He throws his hands out in front of him. "Nothing happened. I swear." Kendall's grip loosens around the guy's neck, giving his purple face some much needed oxygen. "She dragged me into a room, and when I tried to kiss her she pushed me away. She was sweet, so innocent. Then she apologized, she said she couldn't do anything because her heart belongs to someone else. She even gave a name. It was something like, Ken, Kenny, Kendrick. Hell if I can remember", he finishes with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Was it Kendall?", I intervene out of curiosity.

I watch the dude's eyes light up. "Yeah, that was it!"

Kendall's arm fully drops from the dude's body and he slowly takes a step back. "Umm, I'm", he stops to shake his head. "I'm really sorry. Totally wrong guy."

The other guy adjusts his shirt and runs a shaky hand through his hair. "No worries. If she was my friend I would've done the same thing."

With nothing but respect for the guy, I walk to him and extend my hand. "So what's your name?"

He takes my hand and gives it a quick shake. "David."

"Nice. I'm Carlos. Bitchin' party tonight huh?"

"You betcha".

"Yeah, well again, sorry for the misunderstanding. Maybe we'll see you around." I then turn to my dazed friend leaning against the wall and tap his arm. "Come on man, it's late. Let's go."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Are you guys ready for another chapter? Hehe, I am! And my apologies in advance for errors, I usually try to at least skim over my chapters, which leads me to get bored so I stop, but this time I didn't even bother, so I hope it's not horrible :P Ok so as usual and I'm sorry if you guys are tired of hearing it, but a big THANK YOU to all of you reviewers. It's just not right if I don't do it, you deserve it for being amazing! SHOUT-OUTS ****DeniseDEMD****- hehe i'm glad you got excited! XD ****ArianaMaslowBTR25****- Yay, I'm glad you loved it! XD ****jackiex3****- haha i love that fact that you get wrapped up in my stories! I love adding twists and turns, and thank you so much for your compliment, it is greatly appreciated! XD ****Logan's Honey Pie**** O.o i have no idea where to begin with you, one day you have Kendall feels, the next you don't *puts hands on hips* Haha! You shall get your answers in time, and yes Kendall does have some making up to do XD ****annabellex2****- haha ok so i totally LOL at your review, you're spot on, BUT it may not always be as it seems, just keep that in mind ;) Well at least for my story, i can't speak for the millions of men worldwide XD ****child who is cool****- great review XD ****Guest ****- O.O YES, Kendall knows, exciting right? XD ****BigTimeStarKid1****- smh at Kendall...he really twisted everything up didn't he? Hehe well I'm glad you still like it. And I'm doing absolutely fine btw, thanks. How are you? Maybe if I get a free minute 2maro I'll tweet you, I've just been kinda lazy lately...I hope everything is okay with you! XD ****BigTimeFan50****- ahh yes Kendall can be so frustrating at times huh? XD**

**Anna's POV**

I drag my eyes away from the bright letters of the neon sign spelling out _The Sunset_, then drop them down to the watch on my wrist. 7:30 it reads, a whole half an hour earlier than the time I agreed to meet Jess here. Two weeks ago I woke up with a hangover from hell and a broken heart, and made the spontaneous decision to take a mini-vacation and headed back home to Colorado for a visit. At the time, I didn't plan how long I would be gone, I just needed a breather. I called the phone company and had my phone shut off, so I could truly clear space in my head, it was like a retreat. I did lots of thinking and caught up with all the family we had left behind when I was sixteen, and for the most part enjoyed my time away. But L.A. had been calling me to come back and I finally gave into it. I drove back and checked into a hotel this morning, then called Jess to let her know I'm back. She suggested we meet up here at _The Sunset_ tonight because her brother's new band has a gig here tonight. I was a bit curious to check it out, as I've heard Kendall mention a few times that he's played here.

Kendall is a sore subject for me right now, I'm upset with him because I feel like he treated me like just a cheap piece of ass, ruining our friendship. I mean I guess I should've known better, but I went ahead and fell in love and slept with him. And instead of keeping my emotions out of it, I put them on display. I guess I'm disappointed because I thought Kendall was better than that. On the other hand though, I can't really be mad at Kendall, I initiated it. I kissed him. He tried to stop but I told him no and took my shirt off. Can I really blame him for going further? I mean, he was just being a dude. Put a naked woman in front of a man and they sure as hell aren't going to run away. But then it all comes back down to Kelsey...how stupid could I have been? Now that I've seen her, I should've known that I can't compare to someone like her. And Kendall had given it to me straight up, he said she'd been contacting him, that she wanted to get back together with him. I looked right past the look in his eyes when he talked about her, too consumed with my own selfishness. Also, out of his own mouth he did say that he was confused. I just wish I would've paid more attention, because I let myself down.

I take a deep breath in and let it out, intent on not letting thoughts about Kendall swarm my head tonight. Even though I'm early I decide to go in. I open the door and walk into the dim-lit room that's already packed and see a stage straight ahead where someone standing in front of the microphone is informing us that it's open mic night tonight, and he has a few new bands playing, as well as a special guest returning tonight. To the right is a bar, and I make my way over to the bartender and order a soda before looking for a place to hang out. All of the tables are taken, and anyway I don't wanna hog one up just waiting for Jess to get here. Instead, I choose a tiny opening next to a group of ladies around my age and walk over there, claiming my stake. The lights onstage are nearly non-existent as I watch someone walk onstage. I pull my phone out of my purse to text Jess and let her know I've made it here, then drop it back inside and focus my attention on the person onstage. He's sitting om a stool, a guitar in his hands, and a microphone adjusted to his size. The man clears his throat, then starts. "Hey everyone. I'm Kendall Knight." My heart does a flip in my chest before it drops to the pit of my stomach; I'm totally shocked, not expecting to see him here, of all places. I freeze in place, unable to move.

I'm frozen in place, watching Kendall tune his guitar as he continues. "This isn't my first time playing here, hell many of you here have probably seen me here before. Umm,I have no idea how I ended up here tonight, but I'm gonna play a song. It's gonna be the only one tonight." Kendall pauses to take a drink from a bottle of water before replacing the cap and setting it down onto the floor. Next, he starts strumming some chords, causing my ears to perk up as I instantly recognize the song. "I wrote this song about someone phenomenal, her name is Anna. Sadly, she'll probably never hear this or know I wrote it about her, but here it is. It's called Daydream Away." Kendall takes a breath in and starts singing.

"I wish you could see your face right now, cause you're grinning like a fool

And we're sitting on your kitchen floor, on a Tuesday afternoon

It doesn't matter when we get back, to doing what we do

Cause right now could last forever, just as long as I'm with you

You're just a daydream away, I wouldn't know what to say if I had you

And I'll keep you a daydream away, just watch from a safe place, so I never have to lose

We would go out on the weekend, to escape our busy lives

And we'd laugh at all the douche-bag guys, chasing down their desperate wives

I would drink a little too much, and you'd offer me a ride

I would offer you a t-shirt, and you would stay another night

You're just a daydream away, I wouldn't know what to say if I had you

And I'll keep you a daydream away, just watch from a safe place, so I never have to lose

We never stood a chance out there, shooting love in real time

So we'll take it over ice tonight, with a little salt, and a little lime

You're just a daydream away, I wouldn't know what to say if I had you

And I'll keep you a daydream away, just watch from a safe place so I never have to lose

You're just a daydream away, I wouldn't know what to say if I had you"

When the song ends, Kendall puts his guitar in it's case and goes back to the microphone. "She was my best friend and I was too scared to try. I guess I was just too scared, and now I'm the one missing out. Moral of the story people, if you want it go for it before the chance passes you by. Thank you all and have a good night." I'm just standing there shocked, with tears streaming down my cheeks, wondering if that really just happened. Oh my gosh, is it possible? Kendall likes me, he was just too afraid to pursue me. It takes a few minutes for me to calm down, and when I do, I go to the ladies room before coming up with an idea.

With wobbly legs I exit _The Sunset_ and walk down the sidewalk, looking for Kendall's car. I'm beginning to think I somehow missed him when I hit the end of the block, but I see his car parked down an alley, the trunk raised. I try to gather my courage and figure out what to say as he lays his guitar case in the trunk and then closes it. "Kendall", I call out. But before anything else can happen, a hand comes over my mouth and another tightly around my waist, and I'm being yanked away.

...

**Kendall's POV**

I don't know why I haven't left, I'm just leaning against my car listening to the radio. Some nights, nights like tonight, I can almost swear I hear her call my name, but when I look up the only I see is a gold car high-tailing it out of the alley. It's just my imagination playing tricks on me. This is how bad I have it. Anna just invades my thoughts all the time. It's been two weeks already since she left, but I still find myself searching for her in a crowd. All I can hope is that she's not staying away, that she'll be back and I'll get the chance to explain myself. It kills me to know I did something to hurt her. Anna's words to Carlos haunt me. "He said he'd never hurt me, but he did." I remember whispering those words to her that night we spend together. I meant them one hundred percent at the time, and I still do now. I never intentionally meant to hurt her.

The loud sound of heels slapping concrete pull me from my thoughts and I look up to see a familiar blonde approaching me. "Kendall?", she asks.

"Jessica, hey. What are you doing here?", I respond.

"Umm, I was supposed to meet Anna here but I guess she's not here yet." Jessica checks the time with a glance to her watch, before responding, "I'm a little late but it's not like her to leave without calling or texting first. By chance have you seen her?", she questions me.

"No, I haven't. But how is she?"

"How do you think she is Kendall? You broke her heart. I mean seriously, what's up with you bringing that Kelsey chick to the party after you slept with Anna? That was a dick move."

Good old Jessica, you can always depend on her to give it to you straight. "She came to visit for the weekend. I wanted her to meet Anna, so she can see who she lost out to. Look I may be an ass because I wasn't thinking, but I do care about Anna." Maybe her best girlfriend could help me out by opening her eyes.

"Then why did you just up and leave after you guys slept together? That girl is so head in heels in love with you. She opened up and gave you all of her, and you couldn't stick around until she woke up." Jessica looks back and forth at people walking by, then she takes several steps away and bends down to pick something up off the pavement. "Oh my God"m she exclaims and flings a hand over her mouth.

"What?", I ask confused.

Jessica runs back to me. "She...Anna was here." The blonde then opens her hand and I see a gold necklace resting in her palm. I immediately recognize it as the one Anna's mom gave to her on her seventeenth birthday.

I frantically search my brain, trying to figure out where she could be but the song playing on my car radio is instantly stopped, with a loud booming voice starting to talk. "Breaking news everyone. We have a report that Justin Gotye has escaped from an L.A. Prison tonight, where he was serving a ten year sentence. We have reason to believe that he's armed and dangerous. We are urging citizens of the L.A. area to be on the lookout for Mr. Gotye, who is 5'8, with brown eyes and short brown hair. There is a tattoo of a cross on his right forearm that may help to easily identify him. It's believed that he's driving a gold 2009 Cadillac, with a California license plate of FE27497. Anyone who sees him, or may have any information of his whereabouts are being asked to please notify L.A.P.D. as soon as possible. Once again, he may be armed and dangerous, so please exercise caution if you come into contact with him." A commerical comes on, and both Jessica and I are staring at eachother wide-eyed.

**A/N So the song I used for this chapter is called "Daydream Away", it's by a band called All Time Low if anyone's interested in giving it a listen. It's pretty amazing...just sayin :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N *waves* hey everyone! Okay so I really strayed from my original idea from this chapter, but to be honest I'm thrilled with how this turned out and where it's heading so I'll roll with the punches, I hope everyone enjoys this! As always, I wanna let you REVIEWERS know how much I appreciate your reviews, so THANK YOU! And you silent readers, and alert-ers (yeah i don't know if that's a real word, but it is now hehe), you are appreciated as well, so no worries there. SHOUT OUTS-**** ArianaMaslowBTR25****- your more is here, I'm so glad you loved it! XD ****DeniseDEMD****- yes. yes. Haha that review was so cute XD ****child who is cool****- wow, you speak! LOL I understand your frustrations, however if they just got together, the story would be over, and i'm not ready for that! Hope this was soon enough for you! XD ****Annabellex2****- yeah, poor Anna :( Justin IS such a creep, huh? I updated as soon as I could. Btw, I did FINALLY get started on the James story yesterday...Woo-Hoo! XD ****BigTimeFan50**** *pats your back* A lot of emotional stuff did happen last chapter huh? And yes, Kendall's feelings are finally revealed...beautiful! XD ****Lija08****- Welcome aboard! I'm happy that you're enjoying my story so much. And yes Kendall's love for her is beautiful...and so is everything about Kendall! Ahhh you're making me gush for some reason LOL...hope this wasn't too long to make you wait! XD ****Guest****- So glad you're loving it, and btw, it's MY fav All Time Low Song as well XD ****Paula****- read on to find out! XD ****Guest****- Aye Carumba! I wish I could answer your questions...and I did update asap! Hope you like! XD ****BigTimeStarKid1****- I feel your Justin frustrations! And yes Kendall absolutely does care, it's great huh? I'm glad I'm giving you Kendall feels, he's just amazing and perfect, everyone should have Kendall feels! Hehe and reviews can never be late, YAY for internet, cuz life SUCKS without it! Hope you're doing well XD ****Ileana****- I know right? Some crazy stuff went down last chapter, and now you can find out what happens next XD ****Logan's Honey Pie****- You totally need to check the song out, I've been at your for months with it! *puts hands on hips* Hey, Kendall didn't bring Kelsey to the party in a malicious way, he wanted the two ladies to meet, I mean come on now, they obviously both mean something to Kendall! I don't like Justin either, but stay tuned to see if Kendall really is gonna be her "knight in shining armor". XD**

**Anna's POV**

All I can see is darkness when my eyes open. I try to sit up but I can't, my hands are tied behind my back, as well as my feet being tied to eachother. I try to call out for someone but something is covering my mouth, preventing me from speaking. The last thing I remember before being here is being grabbed backwards, and Justin's voice at my ear saying, "Hey baby." My heart starts pounding as panic sets in. I listen for a minute to try to figure out where I'm at, but all I can hear is the sound of passing cars. I do my best to sit up, which is still a fail, but I can tell that whatever's above me is only like a foot away from my face. It must be a car, I'm in the trunk of a car! Trying to use my feet together, I start kicking my legs around, remembering that my social studies teacher once told me that if you're ever locked in the trunk of a car, you should kick the tail lights out to alert someone. I'm trying my best but my body is jostled and I roll the opposite way as the car comes to a stop. I hear a car door open and close, then footsteps until the trunk of the car is opened and lifted up. I open my mouth to take a deep breath of fresh air, staring into the face of Justin Gotye, someone I could have happily gone the rest of my life never seeing again.

I don't do anything, knowing that Justin gets a kick out my reactions and I am not going to give him what he wants. Instead I just stare dead into his eyes. "I see you woke up", he says with a smirk. His eyes travel over my body appreciatively, stopping to ogle my thighs and panties, exposed from my skirt being pushed up to my hips with all my thrashing around; causing me to cringe. "Damn girl I missed you, but right now sure ain't the time to show you how much", he lets his eyes linger for a moment before shaking his head and bending down to grab me. I try to scream but it's muffled by the duct tape over my mouth as I'm hoisted up over his shoulder and carried through the darkness to a door. I recognize it as my parent's house, the one that's up for sale. Justin sets me down and my purse dangles from his other hand. He digs around inside until he finds what he's looking for, which is my key ring. "Which one is it?", he asks. I just look at him and make no effort to help, for some eerie reason I'm calm. I mean really what can I do anyway? "It's okay doll, one of them'll work." He chuckles and turns away back to the door, where he tries several different ones until the right one slides into the keyhole. Once the door is pushed open, he throws me back over his shoulder and kicks the door closed behind him. Everything is dark, there are no lights to be turned on because the electric bill hasn't been paid in months.

Justin's journey takes us up the stairs, to my parent's bedroom where he sets me down on the edge of the bed and sits next to me, pulling a phone out of his pocket. I watch in curiosity as he dials a number and puts the receiver up to his ear. "Yeah, hey it's me. I need you two to come now, and bring the stuff I asked for." There's a silence until Justin starts talking again. "Yeah. I'm at 423 Jefferson street, just get here fast." Justin ends the call and drops the phone on the bed before leaning over and gripping the edge of the duct tape in his fingers, his alcohol drenched breath wafts to my nostrils, making me want to gag. "Now we can take this off. It might hurt a bit, but you'll be fine." I clench my eyes closed tightly and wait for him to just rip it off and be done with it in a second flat, but to my surprise, Justin peels it off slowly and gently. "Better?", he asks.

I nod my head, shocked at his behavior. "Good now I'm going to find something to change into while we wait for the boys to come."

"Boys? What boys? And what the hell is going on?", I question but he's already walked across the room and rummaging through the walk-in closet. I watch as he changes out of the jeans and t-shirt he's in, into a pair of black dress slacks and a red button down shirt, which used to belong to my father. Justin checks his appearance in the mirror and nods, obviously satisfied with what he sees and stalks back across the room, where he comes to kneel down in front of me.

"I came back for you sweet cheeks", he utters and runs the back of his hand down one side of my face. "I was just gonna take you and ride you off into the sunset somewhere else, where we could start fresh, but there's a little something that got in the way. We're gonna have to take care of it first."

"What? What are you talking about?", I question.

"Oh darlin', I was there earlier at _The Sunset_. I saw that blonde kid...Mr. Knight, and I heard the song he sang for you." Justin rolls his eyes and stands up straight, smoothing his hands down the front of his shirt. "But I can see that he's gonna be a distraction for you, so I'm gonna have to do something about it so that you'll be all mine."

Fear grips my heart, sending a chill down my spine. "Wh-what are you gonna do?" The doorbell rings, interrupting his reply.

"I'll be right back. Don't you go anywhere", he sneers with a wink and exits the room.

I hear some talking going on downstairs, but it's too quiet for me to make anything out, so I sit quietly frantically searching my brain to help me find a way out of this situation. It's only a few short minutes later when Justin comes bounding back up the stairs. His eyes are dancing wildly as he stops a few feet away from me and starts talking. "Okay Anna, here's the plan. You, me, and my boys downstairs are gonna be going over to Mr. Knight's house to take care of some business."

I don't know what he means by business, but goosebumps pop up all over my body at the sound of those words. I scoff, "You don't even know where he lives."

Justin smirks and pulls a folded up piece of paper out of his pocket before opening it up and starting to read it. "88 Sycamore Drive. And he lives with three other people, James Diamond, Logan Mitchell, and Carlos Garcia. My eyes widen and I gasp in shock, but Justin continues on louder. "Now this is what's gonna happen. We're gonna drive over there and you're gonna ring the doorbell and get him to come outside. Make up something like you need to talk to him, whatever it takes to get him outside."

"I won't do it", I yell.

As if he knew this would happen, Justin pulls a gun out from behind him, causing my heart to stop beating. "Oh, I think you will", he smirks.

I can't stop the scream before it comes out, or the hot tear making it's way down my cheek. I take a few deep breaths, then ask what's on my mind. "What are you gonna do to him?"

He chuckles darkly before answering, "Don't you worry about that right now, you'll see real soon." I flinch when Justin bends down in front of me, and much to my surprise starts untying my legs. Once that's done, he unties my hands but places the gun next to my head in a warning. "Now be a good girl and don't try to escape or draw attention to yourself. If you do, you'll laying in a pool of blood with a bullet in your head. Okay?"

I nod my head and stutter, "O-okay."

"Atta girl", he kisses my cheek and pulls me up.

...

Fifteen minutes later, Justin cautiously parks the van with tinted windows across the street from the Big Time Rush house. The two big men I've been squished between, get out one by one and hide behind the big bushes on either side of the front door. Not a moment later, Justin turns around to me and shoots me a creepy grin. "Alright, sweetheart. You know what to do." I close my eyes and take the deepest breath possible, trying to wrap my head around the fact that this is really happening. Even with the gun is Justin's hand, I can't seem to make myself move. "Get up now", he raises his voice and climbs from the driver's seat to the back of the van next to me. He jerks me up and pushes me to the door that's still open, my feet slide down until I'm standing on pavement, but Justin keeps a tight grip on my arm. "Don't you dare screw this up Anna. Those other two men have guns as well, and they're not afraid to use them. One wrong move and your little lover boy gets shot in his pretty face, understand me?" I nod my head, scared beyond belief. "Good, go. Make me proud." I can feel bile rising up in my stomach as I manage to get my feet to work; one in front of the other, I tell myself.

My legs are wobbling profusely as I make my way across the street. I had lost my faith in God a few years ago, but now more than ever I need a miracle, and decide to pray that nothing happens to Kendall, or Logan, Carlos, or James. They haven't done anything wrong and they have no reason to be dragged into this, but Justin is a malicious person, and I have no clue what his intentions are, but I'm sure he's seeking revenge for what Kendall did to him the day he stabbed me. It would be a shame for something to happen after Kendall has revealed his true feelings, and I haven't had the chance to tell him mine. Not only that, but Kendall is an amazing person and deserves a great life. He shouldn't be mixed into this whole situation. Although I don't have an answer right now, I'll do whatever I have to to ensure that Kendall or the guys don't get hurt in any way.

Hot tears are flowing freely down my face as I ascend the steps to the door, biting my lip to keep from screaming. My hand is shaking so bad, knowing that three guns are pointed at me, that it takes me several times before my fingertip can hit it's target on the doorbell. I hope that no one is home, but my hope is shattered when the curtain next to the door is pushed to the side just seconds before the front door is pulled open.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N Okay I know a lot of you are anticipating this, and I must say that I'm proud of myself for pumping this out within a span of about six hours. Once again, I didn't read over it for errors, so if there are mistakes it just shows that I'm not perfect. I hope you all enjoy it, and as always, a BIG THANK YOU to all of you lovely reviewers and readers. I appreciate each and every single review I get so don't underestimate yourselves. SHOUT OUTS- ****Lija08****- I'm horrible for leaving such a cliffhanger huh? I don't wanna give away too much here, but I hope this chapter is up to your standards! Thank you so much for your compliments, they mean a lot, I'm glad you're hooked...this story is so much different than my usual type! XD ****annabellex2****- ahhh, so sorry for the cliffie, i just enjoy them lol...hope this came fast enough for you XD ****Logan's Honey Pie****- Hahaha I can totally see you stalking your e-mail, checking it like every two minutes for this update! And thank you very much for your compliments, they count...a lot! I know I can produce some drama, but who knew about the suspense? Me likey tho! XD ****BigTimeStarKid1****- Promise fulfilled...it is here! *hug* I really hope that you are feeling better. I really really hope you like this chapter, it gets a little crazy but honestly this is the most fun story I've written so far...can't wait to read your review for this chapter. And btw, no review is too short or late XD ****DeniseDEMD****- Yes, SO nerve-wracking, i feel your frustrations girl. I hope this chapter helps you out! XD ****child who is cool****- great review! XD ****Ileana****- It actually is scary huh? I'm all like "OMG" as I'm writing! LOL Read on to find out what happens XD ****Pokadot Queen95-**** Yes, I totally know that was a horrible place to stop at, BUT i'm a big fan of writing cliffhangers LOL. Good thing is that this update is only a day later so YAY! Wow, your compliments boost my writing ego, I'm so glad that you love this story. I hope this came fast enough for you! XD**

*****WARNING*** This chapter does contain some very disturbing, serious, mature subject matter so if you're faint of heart, you might wanna turn away now...and for all of you perves out there (hehe) it does NOT contain smut, sorry to disappoint...but yeah this is my first time writing something like this so your feedback is greatly appreciated! **

**Anna's POV**

Seeing the tall, thin figure standing in the doorway sends a dizzy spell over me. I'm crying hard but somehow manage to whisper, "I'm so sorry Kendall", over and over as I back away from the door, nearly falling down the concrete steps. I regain my balance, a confused look covers Kendall's face as he calls my name and steps through the doorframe, making his way closer to me. My tears are falling uncontrollably like rain, sobs wracking my body, while my mind spins with fear at the unknown.

"Anna, what is it? What's wrong?" His voice is tinged with concern as Kendall reaches out and grabs my hand; but in the blink of an eye there's a figure sprinting towards him from behind. I scream in warning, but before Kendall's able to register what is happening, the figure slams a gun into the side of his head. I watch it all in slow motion as Kendall falls to the ground, the dark red blood seeping from him creating a deep contrast as it stains his blonde hair. He lands with a thud on the walkway, with his eyes closed. My legs are weak and give out, sending me tumbling to the ground. Kendall's chest goes up and down, letting me know that he's still breathing, but I scramble over to him, trying to touch his face, needing to know that he's okay. My hand touches his warm cheek just as the burly man yanks his arm up like he's a rag doll, and drags him across the street. All I can do is watch helplessly as Kendall's body is thrown into the back of the van.

The next thing I feel is being lifted up by the second accomplice and being carried to the van, and held down on the back seat as a piece of duct tape is once again placed over my mouth, as well as my hands and legs being re-tied together. Once that is finished, Justin utters with a wink, "Good job baby. I knew you had it in you." The engine of the van roars to life, and the ride is silent as we drive, the only thing running through my mind is what's going to happen to Kendall. I can't let anything happen to him, I don't care what happens to me as long as he makes it out alive.

A little while later we're back at my parent's house, Justin leads us up the stairs to the master bedroom. Justin instructs the man to put me down on the bed, which he does. Next, the second man does as he's told and scoots the chair closer to the bed and sets a now conscious Kendall down into it. This is the first time I've seen him since he was put into the back of the vehicle, and guilt floods my body at his wide eyes and the horrified look on his face. Kendall struggles, trying to free himself to no avail. Our gazes are locked on eachother's, fear set in our eyes. Justin goes to the dresser and picks up a thick bag, hands it to the two men, and informs them that their job is done, and asks them to close the door on their way out.

The two goonies exit the room and when the door shuts, I wonder what the plan is now. All I can think about as I stare at Kendall is this is all my fault. I don't have long to think about it because Justin pulls a pair of handcuffs from under the bed and cuffs my hands to the bedposts, then he cuts the rope from around my hands first, followed by the one from around my ankles, and last the tape is removed from my mouth. I take in a deep breath of fresh air then turn back to Kendall, keeping my gaze fixed to his beautiful green eyes, to hang onto hope and my sanity in this nightmare. "I-I'm so-", but am cut off by the palm of Justin's dirty hand being placed over my lips.

"You just keep it quiet", he warns and shows me the gun. I nod rapidly, letting him know I understand. Justin removes his hand, but doesn't move from his position on the bed as he faces Kendall. "This is what's going down", he starts. "You're gonna watch me fuck her, so you know who she belongs to. While I'm at it, you'll get a few tips on how it's done by a real man. But that won't really matter, because when we're all done with that, Anna's gonna hold this gun and pull the trigger with her pretty little finger while it's pointed at your head." Justin turns back to me with a smile on his face. "Good plan don't ya think? And when the cops come, we'll just tell them that Mr. Knight here was trying to rape you, and I broke in to save the day. Well, the night." It takes a minute for everything to sink in, and when it does I start panicking and screaming, trying to free myself.

Justin sneers and croaks, "Mmm baby, you know much I like it when you get loud." Feeling humiliated, I turn away from Kendall, not wanting him to see what's getting ready to happen. As if on cue, Justin starts kissing my neck, making my skin crawl. I whimper and scream, wanting him off of me. I watch as he sets the gun down on the mattress and begins snaking his hands up my thighs. I pull my arms with all of my might, but the handcuffs don't give in, instead they dig into my wrists painfully. I squeeze my thighs closed and beg, "No, please! Please! Stop! Please!"

"That's right baby, beg for it", Justin laughs, and I dare to glance at Kendall, he's thrashing around like a maniac, trying to free himself. I close my eyes, avoiding the expression on Kendall's face as he watches this unfold. I start kicking my legs, trying to move from around Justin when I hear him unzip his pants, followed by the sound of the fabric being pushed down and pulled from his body. Next, my skirt is shoved up, and my panties are ripped roughly from my body, causing me to yelp out in pain. Justin climbs on top of me and I'm screaming and crying, trying to keep my thighs together but my strength is no match for his. He pries my legs open and pins them down to the mattress. The feeling of his erection pressed into my thigh makes me want to vomit, along with his mouth assaulting my chest with a series of wet, sloppy kisses.

My throat is sore and it burns, my mouth is dry, and my voice is hoarse with the way my screams, whimpers, and pleading all blur into one sound. On a whim, I try a different tactic; choosing to give up the fight and lay still and silent, biting down onto my lip extremely hard to muffle my noises that I can taste blood. As much as I don't want this, Kendall is more important than myself. And as long as I'm giving Justin what he wants, Kendall is safe.

I will myself not to move or make a sound as Justin positions himelf over me, but suddenly the bedroom door slams open, revealing Carlos, James, and Logan standing just outside the room. Justin is taken by surprise and jumps up and reaches for his gun, but isn't quick enough. It's like watching a movie as Justin's pistol is snatched up by Carlos, while two guns are pointed at him, one at each temple. Carlos leans over to graciously pull my skirt down, covering my exposed body. "Think again motherfucker", Logan yells, while James orders, "Sit down and you might get lucky enough to stay in one piece."

Carlos runs to Kendall and makes quick work of cutting the rope binding his feet together, and then his hands, leaving our blonde friend to remove the tape from over his mouth. Kendall climbs onto the bed next to me, asking Justin for the key to the handcuffs. Justin smirks, refusing to provide an answer until a gun is being shoved into his crotch. James's voice is loud and booming as he commands, "Answer the question asshole or I'll shoot your dick off."

"I-it's on the dresser, over there", he points and Carlos goes to get it, then tosses it to Kendall, who catches it in one hand. After liberating my hands, I pull the sheet up over my body and sit in shock, watching as Kendall throws the cuffs to Carlos, who then restrains Justin's hands and ties his legs together, then sits him down onto the chair Kendall had been occupying just moments ago. Kendall then gets the satisfaction of taping his mouth shut.

James and Carlos run downstairs to get a signal on their phones to call the cops, while Logan explains to Kendall and I how they got here. "Well I was on my way home from uhh," he stops to clear his throat. "A booty call, and I saw Anna go the door and Kendall come out, and then I saw Kendall get clocked. I knew some serious shit was going down when I saw the two big dudes. So instead of getting out of my car, I drove past the house and turned around, creeping up with my headlights off. Apparently everybody was too wrapped up in whatever was going on to notice me. I followed the van, then watched as they took the two of you inside. I stayed out in my car and called James and Logan. When they got here, the two guys were sitting in their car counting piles of money so it was easy for us to just roll up on them and steal their guns. When they tried to question us, we told them we saw everything that happened, and we're going to call the police. Those two climbed into their van and drove away like little bitches." He chuckles, then his face turns serious again. "But really, we did call the police, guess they haven't made it yet. So anyway, I'm gonna go down there and see what's going on."

I wait until I hear Logan's footsteps going downstairs before making an effort to get up. "Hey, I don't know what kinda crazy shit just happened. But are you okay?" Kendall looks at me, his eyes filled with worry.

My head is reeling and it's hard to find my voice. "I will be. But you should go be with the guys. I'm gonna find something to change into, then I'll be down."

"It's okay, I'll wait for you."

I pinch the bridge of my nose and reply. "I just need a few minutes alone to collect myself."

Kendall nods in acceptance I can see he's hesitating. "Alright, but if you need anything, call for me."

"Okay", I mutter and wait for him to start walking away before coming to my feet.

Kendall stops in front of Justin before bending down to eye level with the creature. "I should kill you myself for what you just tried to do, but I'll let you rot in hell while you're back in prison, where you'll find out what it's like to be somebody's bitch." Kendall then stands up and rams his fist into Justin's cheek before walking away like nothing just happened.

I pad across the carpet ignoring Justin as I stroll past, making my way to my old bedroom where I find a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a clean pair of panties to change into. Once I'm finished, I return to my parent's bedroom to retrieve my shoes when I notice Justin is missing from the chair. I don't think anything of it, I continue on with my mission.

I'm squatted down next to the bed, putting my flats back on my feet when I see him emerge from behind the door. "You little bitch!", he exclaims. "You didn't think I was gonna let you get away that easily did you?" When he lunges at me, I notice a gun out of the corner of my eye sitting on the edge of the bed and pick it up with lightning speed and wrap my index finger around the trigger. I don't think, I just squeeze my finger around the small metal piece, firing the gun at the man who has made my life nothing less than hell the past few years. He falls to the floor and I back away until my back hits the wall, then I slide down the flat surface until I land on my butt and drop the gun.

All four of the guys fly up the stairs and Kendall runs in first, coming to me and pulling me in for a tight hug, my head is pressed into his chest. His breaths are rapid when he speaks. "Oh my God I thought something happened to you."

I'm in a daze when I hear one of the guys say, "There's no pulse." Kendall lifts me up with one arm under my knees, the other around my back and carries me downstairs to the couch. He cradles me on his lap, and keeps his arms wrapped around me protectively as I cry. I let my tears run freely; in relief that this is all over, for what could've happened, and also because a God who I had lost hope in, both renewed my faith and answered my prayer.

...

I'm beyond exhausted, but I stay up with my head resting on an equally sleepy Carlos's shoulder at the Big Time Rush house, waiting for Kendall to get back from getting checked out at the hospital. Something I learned today is that there are no guarantees from one minute to the next, so I am going to tell Kendall my feelings tonight. When I hear the sound of a key entering the keyhole of the doorknob, I spring off the couch and run to the front door, flinging it open. "How are you? What did the doctor say?", I ambush him.

"All is well", he responds with a laugh and pulls me in by my shoulders for a sideways hug. I wrap my arms around him and squeeze as hard as I can before taking a step back. "But", he continues. "I'm tired and in desperate need of a shower." Feeling guilty I back away and plop back down onto the couch.

"Hey Kendall", I call out as he starts climbing the steps.

"Yeah?", he answers.

"Do you think I can talk to you about something when you're done? I really need to tell you tonight."

"Sure, just give me a few minutes. You can hang in my room while I take a shower if you want."

"Okay", I say and watch as he disappears up the stairs. After a few minutes of gathering my courage, I force myself to get up and go to his room. I sit up on the bed and cross my legs criss cross applesauce and think of how to tell him. My heart starts racing when I hear the shower turn off, then Kendall enters his room moments later.

"Hey is that my shirt?", he asks as he sets his wallet down on top of his dresser.

I look down as if I don't know and tug at the cotton covering the upper half of my body. "Yeah, I hope you don't mind. I really didn't have anything clean to put on after my shower."

"Nope, it's cool. So what did you want to talk about?"

I pat the space in front of me on the bed. "Can you sit down?"

Kendall sits in front of me and I can almost swear my heart is going to beat right out of my chest. My hands are trembling with nervousness, and my palms are sweating. _It's now or never_, I tell myself and take a deep breath. "Kendall, I was at _The Sunset_ earlier. I heard your confession, a-about me, and I think you should know I feel the same way." I feel my cheeks heat up as I proceed to babble. "Even when were sixteen I had this silly school girl crush on you, and then when we met up again it just kinda started back up and grew. And...and, I don't know. I just wanted to tell you."

Kendall's hand covers mine that is fidgeting nervously with the hem of the shirt and I look up at him. He smiles. "So what should we do? What do you want to happen?"

"Right now all I want is for you to kiss me", I answer honestly.

"As you wish." Kendall pushes my hair back off my shoulders then cups my cheeks in both of his hands before slowly lowering his head to mine, all the while moving his eyes back and forth between my eyes and my lips. When he's only an inch away, he licks his lips and tips his head to the side. I close my eyes, feeling his lips brush against mine with a feather light caress, then he pulls back slightly and slides one of his hands to the back of my head to tangle in my hair, and pulls me to him pressing his mouth to mine harder this time, but keeping the kiss sweet, slow, and filled with emotion until we both need a break.

His fingertips run down my cheek and I open my eyes to find him looking at me with a smile. "How was it?", he questions.

"It was perfect", I tell him, then yawn.

"I'm pretty beat, too", Kendall states.

"Well goodnight", I say and start to get up off the bed when he grabs my sore, bruised wrist lightly. I turn around in question.

"Stay here. Sleep next to me. Please."

Without saying a word, I move to the head of the bed and pat the pillows for him to lay down, then I lay on my side with my back against his chest, pulling his arm over my waist. I heard the urgency in his voice and know he needs this just as much as I do; the comfort and protection of being in someone else's arms as you drift off to sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N Ok wow, so long time no see right? Sorry, I just became new to tumblr and anyone who has an account there knows how addictive it is. So yeah, that would be my reason for taking so long to update, but alas it is here...no death threats please! ;) As always, a BIG THANK YOU to all of my wonderful reviewers and even to you silent readers out there. Seriously, reviews make my writing world go round so keep em coming! XD And my apology in advance if this sucks or doesn't flow well, I have quite a sinus issue atm and feel like my brain is detached from my body, but I did my best! SHOUT OUTS- ****BigTimeStarKid1****- Aww, I'm SO glad the last section of the last ch made you smile! I REALLY REALLY hope you like this one as well...get your heart ready cause I even made myself say "aww" with this one. Hehe so I can't wait for our little "fangirling" session tomorrow, they always pump me up and make me hyper! I love you girl, thanks for putting up with me! XD ****Paula****- Hehe, I'm glad you loved it! That chapter went from bad to good, it was like an emotional rollercoaster! XD ****child who is cool****- great review! XD ****annabellex2****- OMG i didn't forget about the James story, I will do my best to have it up within a week, I PROMISE, and I ALWAYS make good on my promises, ask anyone! But i hope this came soon enough for you. Thank you SO much for patience and not getting fed up with me! XD ****DeniseDEMD****- Yes that was quite a rollercoaster ride wasn't it? Lol, I loved the ending myself! XD ****Pokadot Queen95****- Hey if people are kind enough to leave reviews, I let them know I appreciate it. Yeah that was a crazy chapter, i'm still wondering where the heck i came up with that stuff LOL NO, the story is not coming to an end just yet...unfortunately I can't tell you how many more chapters because I am quite unsure myself, but I know I'm having a great time writing this and am not ready to end it just yet XD ****Lija08****- Haha OMG your review had me feeling awesome, thanks so much! As for a novel, PLEASE don't hold your breath on that because I see that happening never! But your compliments make me feel great, so thank you! XD ****jackiex3****- Wow, well i hope you had fun while you were out of town. I do love plot twists and cliffies, just mah thang yano? LOL but seriously, I'm glad you loved em! XD ****EmilyRae96****- yes that chapter was quite heartbreaking and intense huh? Well until the end, then it got all romantical and sweet. And yes, this story is WAY different than any of my other writings, I'm loving it though! XD ****BigTimeFan50****- Yes, Justin was quite the imbecile, but he's out of the picture for good now! XD ****Logan's Honey Pie****- ok wow i don't even know what to say to you. I was beginning to think that this update would never happen because you introduced me to tumblr! But i thank you SO VERY MUCH for that ;D A lot of stuff happened in the last ch, I'm glad you appreciate the other guys jumping in to save the day, especially your man-whore Logan! Thank God for his booty call that night! LOL So anyway, you get your answer...WOO-HOO! XD**

**Kendall's POV**

I knock on Anna's door and take a step back, waiting for her to answer. A couple minutes pass by with nothing happening, and I'm about to knock again when the door flies open. Anna is standing there looking nothing short of breathtaking in her navy blue silk dress and black pumps. Her hair is curled and she's wearing make-up, but when my eyes trail to her face, I notice a scowl on her lips, and that her eyes are shiny with tears. "Hey, is everything okay?", I ask, forgetting about the flowers in my hand. I don't wait for her to answer before stepping around her and going inside.

"I just can't find the right thing to wear", she huffs. "This", she tugs at the silk fabric adorning her body, "is-"

"Perfect", I respond, cutting her off.

"Do you think it's too plain for dinner?", she asks. Today is my mom's fiftieth birthday, and the whole family is getting together for dinner; Anna is coming along as my date.

"Not at all. You look stunning". I take her hand and smile at just how great she does look.

"Kendall, I don't." She looks down at her feet, but not before I see the blush spread over her cheeks. I can't help but to find it adorable and to be fascinated by the newer side of this woman I've known for years.

I step closer to her and slide an arm around her waist, placing a kiss on her temple. "You do. Now come on before we're late." I still can't believe after all this time that we're taking things to the next level, but I guess it was only a matter of time. "Oh and you might wanna put these in water", I hold out the bouquet of roses to her.

I watch in amusement as her blush deepens and I can tell she's frazzled as she walks to the kitchen and pulls a vase out from underneath the sink, and takes care of the flowers. I wait by the door as she runs to grab her purse and comes back to meet me. "There's no need to be nervous", I tell her as I take her hand and lead her out the door.

"I know it's not the first time I'm meeting your family or being around them, but it's been so long. Everything is different."

This part of Anna is still the same, she always gets frustrated over the smallest details. "It'll all be fine", I reassure her and usher her into the car.

Half an hour later we arrive at the restaurant, and everyone is already there, my parents and my two brothers, with their respective dates. I hold the chair for Anna and after she sits I go to give my mom a kiss on the cheek. "Happy Birthday, I love you", I tell her, and take my seat next to Anna.

"You guys all remember Anna right?", I ask.

Everyone shakes their head in agreement, and I smile, covering Anna's hand with mine. "Happy Birthday Mrs. Knight", she greets my mom.

"Thank you, dear. How are you doing?", my mom replies. She and Anna chat for a few minutes, then it all becomes quiet and my mom is sitting there with her nose scrunched up like she does when she's thinking. "Where's Kelsey?", she asks me out of like, nowhere.

"Umm, what about her? We broke up months ago, remember?"

A look of confusion crosses her face. "Well sweetie, when she was at the house yesterday, she told me the two of you were getting back together."

My eyes fly to Anna and her eyes widen. "No", I shake my head at her, then turn back to my mom. "What is she doing going to your house? I mean I haven't even talked to her in a few weeks. And I never told her we're getting back together because Anna and I are dating now", I announce.

"Oh. But you guys were so cute together. You lived together, and I always thought you would get married."

"Mom", I try to stop her, but she clearly doesn't get the hint.

"She's been dropping by the house at least once a week. I always did like her, even though she did break my baby's heart."

I look over at Anna who looks as uncomfortable as someone walking barefoot across hot coals. When my mom gets into her own little world, she's oblivious to everything else around her. She's embarrassing me and I look to my dad for help. He clears his throat and addresses my mom. "Honey, I think now might not be the best time to have this discussion."

"But...well...", my mom sputters and my dad gives her a stern look. "Okay, we'll save this for another time."

I'm trying so hard not to get mad at my mom because it's her birthday but I need to clear things up. I tell her as politely as I can, "Mom, Anna is my girlfriend now."

...

**Anna's POV**

After the extremely awkward dinner with Kendall's family, he brought me back to his place. Feeling in a funk, I've been quiet and just followed him through the house, to sit out on the balcony and look at the stars. I stand back, watching as he sits down onto one of the loungers just outside his bedroom. "Hey, come here", he tugs my wrist and pulls me down onto his lap. I sit sideways on his legs with an arm around his neck and rest my head on his shoulder, letting out a sigh after breathing in the scent of his cologne. "What's the matter?", he asks.

"It's nothing", I shake my head a little and force a tiny smile up at him. Kendall moves back a bit forcing me to sit straight up and he tucks the loose strands of hair behind my ears. I feel his eyes set on my face but I avoid looking in his eyes. The knot that's been in my stomach since dinner is still there, and it's got me feeling uneasy.

"It's not nothing. I can tell there's something bothering you", he says softly.

"I just", I stop and shrug my shoulders, letting my chin fall to my chest. "I'm probably just being silly but that whole thing your mom was talking about...what Kelsey said about you guys getting back together." I don't wanna admit that I'm jealous, but it was pretty obvious by the way Kendall's parents talked about Kelsey that they really liked her. It also didn't help when his brother said she's smokin' hot. My mind hasn't stopped whirling since then, and things are just getting to me. I lift my head and decide to just give it to him straight. "Kendall, I don't measure up. Your family loves her and I don't blame them. I mean, hello, look at her! She's gorgeous!"

Kendall's eyes darken, and I can tell by the way his teeth are clenched together and his jaw is set that I've angered him. Tears are biting at my eyes but I force them back, getting mad at myself for being so emotional. "I-I'm sorry, Kendall", I blurt out and come to my feet on the floor. I take a step away but his arm comes around my waist, preventing me from going any further.

"You seriously think that?", he scoffs.

"Yes, Kendall", I state calmly. I feel humiliated, I've done enough to embarrass myself and I just want to get out of here.

Kendall's voice is at my ear. "But it's not true. I mean, yeah Kelsey may be pretty but so what. You...you're beautiful compared to her. And I feel incredible when I'm around you. That's not something I ever felt around her."

Different emotions are flooding my senses, and I finally gather the courage to ask the question that I've been quietly holding back. I turn around so I'm facing him and look up into his face. "Kendall", I start and my voice is weak and on the verge of breaking. "Why did you leave that night, after you know...", I let it trail off, for lack of the proper wording.

"After we made love?", he asks. I nod. He shuffles on his feet before answering. "Because, Anna, I didn't want to be there when you woke up and decided that it was a mistake. I didn't wanna hear those words and be rejected like that, it would have hurt too much. I've kinda liked you for a little while before that happened", he says sheepishly and slides his hands into the pockets of his dress pants.

I'm stunned at his confession, unable to say anything, but I manage to step toward him and lift myself on the tips of my toes to kiss him. The kiss is short and simple, just our lips touching, but it's enough for me right now. I curl my hands around his suspenders and slink back down onto my heels. Kendall takes my hand and nudges his head for me to follow him.

We end up back inside his bedroom, where he sits me on the edge of the bed and kneels in front of me. "Look Anna, I don't ever want you feeling like you're not good enough for me. No one has ever made me feel the way that you do. And I know you've had a bad past, but that doesn't make you any less than other women; it shows how strong you are. I wanna change how you view things, and I'm gonna show you how you should be treated."

"Kendall", I utter, not knowing what to say, and I blink back more tears; tears of happiness this time.

As if he can sense what I'm feeling he shakes his head. "Don't. Just don't say anything. Let me do this."

Before I can even ask what he's doing, Kendall removes my heels and plants a kiss on the top of each of my feet. "Things that I love about Anna", he says and winks. "Number ten...Your laugh, it's like music to my ears." Placing his hands atop my thighs, he pulls himself up onto his knees. A twinkle is in his eyes as he moves the appendages to my hips. "Number nine...you love animals, and it's so cute how you make a fuss over them."

Kendall stands up onto his feet. "Number eight...I love that you're my best friend, you know everything about me. I can talk to you about anything." We share a moment smiling at eachother before he climbs up onto the bed and gets behind me. Kendall gathers my hair and moves it over my shoulder to one side, so that it hangs down in front of me. Next, I feel his hands at my back, fidgeting with the zipper of my dress."Number seven...I love that you're fearless. You've been through a lot and haven't given up." The zipper is inched down, the heat of Kendall's hands following it as the fabric on each side parts. "Number six", the straps of my dress are being slid off of my shoulders. Once it reaches my elbows, Kendall's hands at my arms pull them up, freeing them from the fabric. I quickly cover my breasts with my hands, feeling exposed. "I love that you are selfless. You don't worry about yourself, your happiness comes from making other people happy."

With his hands at my hips, he nudges me up and I come to my feet, letting him push the dress down to my legs. I feel self conscious but he doesn't give me the option of dwelling on it, for once I step out of the dress, Kendall gently tugs me so I'm seated again. Next, he gets off the bed and with his eyes never leaving my face, he tugs the straps of his suspenders down, unzips his pants, and steps out of them. He starts unbuttoning his dress shirt. "Number five...I love how you sing when you think no one is around, or can hear you. I don't think you realize that you have the voice of an angel." I'm pretty much swooning at this point, watching as Kendall lets the shirt fall from his shoulders, and land onto the floor. He slips his socks from his feet and walks over to his dresser clad in only a pair of green boxers, opens a drawer, takes something out, then makes his way back to me.

"Number four", he says and leans down so his face is only an inch away from mine. "I love your eyes, they're mesmerizing, and allow me to see into your soul." I watch as Kendall fidgets with the article of clothing in his hands, he finds what he's looking for and slides his t-shirt over my head, and pulls it down covering my torso. I push my arms out through the sleeves and just look at him in awe. Kendall pulls my hair out from the neckline at the back of the shirt and bends down to trace my lips with his finger. "Number three...your smile. It's contagious and could light up the whole night sky."

I start blushing, and look down to the floor. Kendall's hands find mine at my sides and turns them so my palms are facing up. He links his fingers with mine and closes his around my hand. "Number two...your hands. I like the way they fit together with mine so perfectly."

Kendall gives my hands a squeeze, then lets go to lift my chin up until my eyes meet his. "My all time favorite thing about my Anna Banana", he whispers, his breaths are tickling my cheek with each word. "Is your heart." He draws a circle with his finger around where my heart is in my chest and continues, "It's made of gold, it's pure, and it's full of kindness and compassion."

"Kendall that was-", I begin but am cut off.

He leans his forehead against mine and utters softly, "Save a bed. Sleep in my arms tonight."

I'm breathless at this point, at the intimacy of the moment. The bed could be on fire and I'd stay right here with him. I place my hands at either side of his face and nod, before whispering, "Kiss me".


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N Wow, as always I want to thank all of you lovely reviewers and readers for all of your loveliness! SHOUT OUTS- ****BigTimeFan50****- Hehe awww, I'm a big fan of romance so I like to portray that in my stories, although I tend to believe that the real Kendall would be kinda like this XD ****child who is cool****- great review XD ****Paula****- He sure is! XD ****x3ylime****- hehe i'm glad you liked that, I know I totally swoon thinking about any man doing this kind of stuff! XD ****Logan's Honey Pie****- Yes Kendall is very sweet, he's got to be like the perfect man. No I think Kendall did the right thing at dinner by telling his mom that he is with Anna now, he didn't make a scene, and didn't leave, ruining his mother's birthday dinner. Sometimes you just have to put your differences aside to keep things peaceful. XD ****EmilyRae96****- Hehe awww, i'm glad you really liked this, I do love writing a cute Kendall XD ****BigTimeStarKid1****- *hug* Well I don't know what to say here except I love writing this story for you! As for his mom, psssh whatever, he loves you so it doesn't matter what she thinks! Lol So we didn't fangirl today, I won't lie I only have like 1 new Kendall pic *hangs head in shame* But hopefully we can have our lil session tomorrow! XD ****FangedCutie****- You are not the worst friend ever, you know my feelings already *hug* Hehe, well i'm glad you love this, I know it is quite different from the other things I write but I took a chance and I adore it myself! Much love XD ****DeniseDEMD****- Yay, I'm so glad you loved it! I know Anna and Kendall are just too perfect right? XD ****Lija08****- Aww! Logan Schmogan, just let the Kendall feels in, he makes EVERYTHING better! Hehe! Yes ,he is a sweetheart, but screw his mom as long as he's happy, that's all that should matter. I updated as soon as I possibly could! XD ****Boysboysboys love em****- YAY you're back! How I have missed you *hug* So umm, hit me up about that James 1shot if you are interested. XD**

"I should get you for that", Kendall scolds as he throws me a towel. I can't help but bust out into a fit of giggles as I remember what happened to ruffle his feathers, as I begin to dry myself off clad in only my bra and panty set.

_Kendall took me horseback riding today, which was really sweet because he somehow remembered from years ago that I love to ride. It was a chill afternoon, we just talked and enjoyed eachother's company. I even caught Kendall talking softly to the horse he rode on as he pet it and fed it carrots, when I was on my way back from the bathroom. He didn't know I could see or hear him, and it was just a sweet moment I won't forget anytime soon. _

_ After that we went to the park and got ice cream, neither one of us too hungry since we had eaten lunch before we went to the ranch. We were just strolling along, talking about anything and everything when seemingly out of nowhere the sky opened up and it began pouring, I mean it was raining cats and dogs. Tossing the remainder of my unfinished ice cream into the nearest trash can, I grabbed Kendall and pushed myself against him. "Kiss me in the rain", I told him. He gave me a funny look before happily obliging, albeit giving me a chaste kiss before telling me to come on. "No", I yelled through the falling rain and held my arms straight out to my sides and began twirling around. An unamused looking Kendall took hold of my wrist and attempted to usher me to the car but I broke free and ran away, laughing the whole time. It had just been an amazing day, and I was feeling so light-hearted and carefree. Finally when I was out of breath and drenched to the bone, I let Kendall lead me to the car. He was quiet the whole ride home, most likely uncomfortable and cold from the wet clothes. _

"It's just rain", I inform him.

"Yeah but you could get sick", he says. I watch as Kendall removes his pants and sits on the bed. Guilt begins to creep in, I know he was just looking out for what's best for me, and under no circumstances do I want him to be mad at me.

I take the few steps it takes to get to him and study the handsome features of his face. He just looks so damn scrumptious sitting here with his wet hair all messed up and his soaking wet shirt sticking to his broad shoulders and over the width of his chest. Something stirs inside of me and I take his face in my hands and look into his eyes. "I'm sorry", I tell him.

"It's okay. I guess I overreacted a little", he replies and offers a smile.

I nod, unsure of what to say. "Yeah you did. I thought it was fun, though."

"Well that's all that matters", Kendall wraps his arms around my back and pulls me close to him. The coldness of his shirt sends shivers down my spine, but I don't move away. Instead, I climb up and place my legs on either side of him and press my lips against his. His kiss is soft and slow, but filled with passion, and begins to ignite a fire in my womb. Even though we slept together that one time, and I stayed over with Kendall last night, he was a gentleman and didn't initiate anything. Everything about him right now has my nerves standing on end, and I'm going to make a move. Letting my hands drop from around his neck, I scoot back slightly and starting with the top, I unbutton Kendall's shirt and let it fall from his shoulders. I slide it the rest of the way down his arms, then let my eyes greedily trail down the lightly tanned skin of his torso.

I relocate my mouth to his neck, and then across his chest, letting my fingers travel down his v-shape until they come in contact with the fabric of his boxers. Next, I slide off of Kendall's legs and ask him to stand up. I tug on the waistband of the undergarment and pull them down until they're pooled around his feet on the floor. Not saying a word, I use my hands to push at his shoulders so he sits back down on the mattress. I follow by sinking down to my knees on the carpet between his legs and wrapping my hand around his half-hardened manhood. His breath hitches in his throat and I start moving my hand up and down the silky skin, until it's fully erect. Keeping my eyes locked with his, I slowly lower my head down to him, causing him to tense up and his hands catch the sides of my face. "You don't have to do this", Kendall tells me.

"I want to", I assure him just before I dart my tongue out to lick the tip. I watch his eyes narrow, then engulf him with the wet heat of my mouth, making him hiss and grip onto my shoulders. I don't have much experience doing this either, but Justin seemed to enjoy it the few times I did it and I want to do this for Kendall, to give him pleasure. All of the little noises pouring from his mouth serve as encouragement and I wrap my tongue around the member and slide down before hollowing my cheeks and pulling back up. With a medium pace, I continue bobbing my head up and down until Kendall fists his hands into my hair and tugs me up. Confused and embarrassed, I drop my eyes to the floor and whisper, "I'm sorry you didn't like it."

"No!", Kendall exclaims and curls his fingers around my wrists, making me look up at him. "It's the complete opposite. I just didn't want to...finish...like this. Here", he says and flattens my hand against the left side of his chest. "Do you feel that?" I feel his heart racing underneath my palm, and nod in response. His lips curl up. "You did that. You make my blood boil and pump through my veins with a fever. You drive me crazy, Anna."

I smile and feel my cheeks heat up, allowing Kendall to pull me up and onto the bed. He lays me down on my back and comes over me, kissing my lips short but sweetly. "I think we need to do something about these wet clothes you have on. You look kind of cold." I hadn't even noticed the goosebumps present all over my body.

"And just what do you propose Mr. Knight?", I cock an eyebrow at him.

His head moves back, and his eyebrows knit together in mocking gesture, "That we take them off, and you let me warm you up", he says with a smirk, then moves his mouth to work at my neck.

"I think that'll be a good", my words are interrupted by my moan. "Idea", I finish and arch my back up into him.

...

"Rise and shine beautiful", I hear Kendall's voice at my ear, jarring me awake.

"Ugh", I groan, not even bothering to open my eyes. I just roll over to my side and try to pull the blanket back over my head, but it doesn't reach far enough.

Kendall chuckles, then nuzzles my neck. "C'mon. I wanna have breakfast with you before I have to go to work."

"I'm sleepy", I pout, then sigh and open my eyes, looking at Kendall's handsome face.

"Well you wouldn't be so tired if you didn't keep me up half the night", he replies and pats my leg.

I blush and sit up, remembering exactly what it is that we stayed up late doing, and immediately burst into laughter when I see Kendall's attire. He's wearing plaid boxers and a pair of suspenders. "Umm Kendall", I choke out when my giggles subside, "What the hell are you wearing?"

He looks down to the gray straps resting on his shoulders and shrugs, then leans over to get something from the bedside table. "I remember your comment about how sexy I look in suspenders so I put it on for you. You like?", he asks with a wink, and sets a plate down in between our bodies.

"I do, even if you are a dork", I tease. The smell of food wafting up to my nostrils makes my belly grumble. "That smells soooo good."

Kendall gives a sheepish smile and goes on to inform me, "Breakfast in bed, for us. I made french toast because I don't really know what vegetarians eat for breakfast. Oh and there's even coffee", he points over to the bedside table.

"It's awesome, I adore french toast!", I exclaim and lean over to place a quick kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome", Kendall replies and holds a forkful of french toast drizzled in syrup up to my mouth. I take the bite and chew it before swallowing. "Very delicious, Mr. Knight. A girl could get used to this yano".

We spend the next bit of time feeding eachother and drinking our coffee until the clock reads 9:30 and Kendall mutters something about taking a shower and going back to the real world as he gets up and heads to the bathroom.

For the next fifteen minutes or so, I drink my coffee and think about what I'm gonna do. I've missed too much time from school to go back now, and sitting home all day surfing the net gets kinda boring. When Kendall emerges from the bathroom, he's dressed in a dark wash pair of jeans and a green t-shirt. I watch him sit down onto the chair with a scowl. "Hey what's wrong?", I ask.

"I hate Mondays. And today is actually worse because I don't wanna have to go because you're here." He bends down to shove his foot into a sock, hten he pulls it up.

"Aww", I utter and crawl off the bed, and walk across the room to him and sit on Kendall's lap. I wrap an arm around his shoulders and tell him, "I'll leave now if it makes it easier on you."

His arms come around my waist tightly. "Nope, you are staying right here until I have to walk out that door. Oh and don't forget, you have to get that stuff together for my mom, you're supposed to have it all ready by Wednesday", he reminds me.

"Yeah I know", I shake my head. His mom is collecting stuff for a charity, and I have lots of clothes and miscellaneous items that used to belong to my parents that I can donate for a good cause. I've totally gotten over whatever Mrs. Knight thinks of me because between the past few nights, Kendall has shown me that he cares about me, and his opinion is the only one that matters to me. "Thank you", I say.

"For what?", he raises an eyebrow in question.

"For the greatest weekend ever."

Kendall tucks my hair behind my ears with his hands and bites down onto his bottom lip, just looking at me.

"What?", I ask.

"You are so cute with your messy bedhair", he replies and scrunches his nose up with his big smile.

"Oh hush", I playfully swat at his chest. No matter how many times he gives me a compliment, it makes me feel like a schoolgirl and my heart skips a beat along with the warm fuzzy feeling I get. Before I know what's happening, my voice is speaking as if it has a mind of it's own. "Kendall, I-", but the doorbell rings interrupting what I was gonna say.

He's looking at me quizzically. "What?"

"Nevermind", I let out a tiny sigh and urge him, "Don't you think you should go anwer the door?"

"No, you're more important", he states matter of factly.

I take a deep breath and just blurt it out. "Kendall, I love you."

No sooner than the words are out of my mouth, we hear a female voice calling out his name. "Kendall! Kendall! Where are you? We need to talk."

Kendall's eyes widen and he gently lifts me off of him and stands up. "I'll be right back", he says and kisses my forehead before exiting the room and going downstairs. "What are you doing here?", I hear him ask.

The voice replies, "I need to talk to you. There's something I need to tell you."

"Kelsey, right now is not a good time. I'm trying to get ready for work." I won't lie and say I'm not curious, but hearing him say her name has my tummy tied in knots.

"It'll only take a minute. Kendall, I'm pregnant with your baby." I'm not sure I heard correctly and I know this is none of my business, but something won't let me leave.

"WHAT?!", he scoffs. "How can that be possible? We haven't slept together in about I don't know, what...three months?"

"I know, Kendall", Kelsey cries. "I just found out last week that I'm three months along. You're going to be a father."

My head starts spinning and blood pumps through my ears at a high speed, making it impossible for me to hear anything further of the chaos that's going on downstairs. My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach and I feel like I'm going to vomit everywhere. I have no right, no place to be here right now, eavesdropping on their conversation that has nothing to do with me. With shaky hands and my body in total shock, I hastily get dressed into my clothes from yesterday that are lying scattered all over the floor and grab my phone from the top of Kendall's dresser. Being as quiet as I can be, I sneak downstairs and out the backdoor.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N Wow, I think this is the longest it's ever taken me to update! A big apology to you lovely readers, I guess I was so excited about my concert that I couldn't concentrate, and after that well I just got busy lol. So have any of you seen the guys on Summer Tour? If you have, I'd love to hear about it, I saw them at #WooHooHershey, amazing performance! Anyway, let's get down to business. This isn't the best chapter I've ever written, that's also another reason why I've been pretty apprehensive about posting it but I kicked myself in the ass and said "Just do it!" A BIG thank you to all of you kind enough to leave a review, I love you all! Ans for you silent readers, I love you as well; I just have no way to address you ;D SHOUT OUTS**** Paula****- stay tuned for the answer to your question, but wow what a curveball huh? XD ****BigTimeStarKid1****- First I will personally apologizing for taking so long with this update, and thank you for your patience...you're the best *hug* I agree with you, Damn Kelsey, like wth?! Hehe i try to make little moments special, glad you appreciated the suspenders tidbit ;D No reviews are too short missy! And umm, don't beat me up after this chapter okay? XD ****jackiex3****- OMG, ikr! I am so with you on that XD ****childwhoiscool****- and she speaks again hehe...ok so thanks and I am trying to keep up with my writing! XD ****BigTimeFan50****- I feel your frustrations, it's cray right? XD ****Logan'sHoneyPie****- I think everybody gets a bad feeling about Kelsey, I mean HELLO she is ruining like the most perfect relationship ever! And yes, poor Anna, and Kendall as well! XD ****EmilyRae96****- Ikr! Ahhh the frustrations, but hey we never know what's gonna happen XD ****FangedCutie****- haha your review was on point and i loved it...no that girl will just NOT quit! I myself am very fond of Anna and Kendall as well, so I'm rooting for them, but i guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens right? I miss you girl! Hmu on twitter when you get a chance so i know you're still breathing! XD ****Boysboysboys love em****- ok so wow you're back in the game and I don't quite know how to respond to all of your reviews, but i missed you and i adore the crap outta your reviews! XD ****Lija08****- Hahaha I love your review! Okay, and it is totally fine to be conflicted by Kendall or any of the other BTR men, I switch it up like every week, BUT Kendall is always #1! i hope you enjoy this chapter like you did the others! XD ****DeniseDEMD****- Ikr! *shakes Kelsey* Seriously? NOT cool blondie! hehe XD ****x3ylime****- I know, poor Anna right? It's cray! Hey thanks, I do my best to keep you readers on your toes XD**

**Anna's POV**

I wipe at the wet drops on my face as I explain to Jessica and Mandy what just happened. After bailing from Kendall's place, I walked the next block over and called Jessica, who so graciously picked me and brought me to her house. Mandy got up from the recliner across from me, grabbed a tissue from the box, then handed it to me and sat down at my side. "Wow", she said and rubbed my leg in an effort to comfort me.

Being that I was in the midst of blowing my nose, I just nodded. Jessica sits up straight on her couch and folds her hands in her lap. "Do you think Kelsey's lying?", she asks.

I ponder over it for a moment. "I don't know", I shrug my shoulders.

"Well for your sake I sure do hope she is."

"Yeah, me too."

I sigh and let my back fall to the back of the couch. "But what would be her motive to lie? I mean, she's beautiful and has a great job. She did leave Kendall behind for a career all the way on the other side of the country!"

"Maybe she didn't like it there."

"Or maybe she lied to get Kendall back. You know some women have no shame!"

"I know they broke up like six months ago, but wow why would he even sleep with her after what she did to him?"

"Men are gonna be men. But hey at least he was sleeping with his ex other than some random chick."

After listening to my two friends speculate, I jump in with a, "Yeah I guess", totally unsure of how I feel about everything.

"Be right back", Jessica says and runs off, returning a few short minutes later with a carton of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia and three spoons. She plops down between Mandy and I, and digs one of the spoons into the ice cream, pulls it out, and hands it to me.

I start mindlessly nibbling at the sweet treat while they cram spoonfuls into their mouths and start talking again. "So what are you gonna do?"

"I don't know. It just sucks", I reply, feeling helpless.

"You guys should definitely talk about it. You know the sooner, the better."

I nod.

"Yeah cause if it's all a big lie, you and Kendall can get back to business. He is totally your 'Knight' in shining armor", Mandy stops to giggle at her attempt of a joke, but my mind is far too busy to be amused.

"But what if it's not a lie?", I whisper, afraid to say it out loud.

"Then you have two wonderful friends right here to help you through it", Jess answers and nudges my side.

I try to smile but my mouth won't cooperate. I know I should be grateful for these fabulous girls, but Kendall's smell lingers all over my body, bringing back memories of last night, causing my eyes to intstantly fill up with tears again. "I'm sorry you guys", I blubber.

"No it's fine, I completely understand", Mandy wraps her arm around me and pulls me into her shoulder.

"Look just try not to think about it and get yourself all worked up over what could possibly be nothing." The rational side of me thinks it over, and I agree to try to stay calm about it.

"Good idea", I muster up a tiny smile around the knot in my stomach. "I'm sleep deprived and in desperate need of a shower. Take me home?"

"Yeah, sure".

...

The sound of the doorbell ringing pulls me back to reality and my stomach does a flip flop. After Jess and Mandy drove me home this morning, I took a hot shower to relax, followed by a nap. When I woke up I had a quick bite to eat and settled on the couch to watch some t.v., and here we are now.

"Come in", I call knowing who it is. The handle turns and the door opens, and Kendall walks in, the expression on his face is unreadable. I sit up and pull my knees up to my chest.

"Hey", he greets me and walks over to take a seat next to me on the couch.

I don't beat around the bush, I had spent all day driving myself crazy wondering and I need to know. "Is she pregnant Kendall?"

"Yeah", he nods his head once and sets his lips into a straight line.

I emit a sigh and with a heavy heart, place my arms on top of my knees in front of me, closing my eyes as I rest my chin on my hands. I don't know how he'll react to this, but I have to ask it anyway. "Is there any chance she could be lying?"

"Babe", he tucks my hair behind my ears, "It's true. She showed me a sonogram picture."

I let out the breath that I had been holding in, hoping against all odds that this was just a mistake; that Kelsey was some twisted, psychotic head case making up stories. _Damn,_ _what now_, I want to ask but instead I bite down onto my lower lip. Seconds go by with neither one of us talking, when I decide to open my eyes. Kendall is at eye level with me, his piercing green orbs staring into mine. "What are you thinking?", he asks.

"I-I don't know", I say and turn away, feeling uncomfortable and get up to grab a bottle of water from the fridge.

When I return, Kendall is still sitting in the same place, his lips are curved up into a tiny semblance of a smile. "You know things with us don't have to change", he tells me.

"Kendall, your whole life is changing. You're going to be a dad."

"That doesn't change things between us."

I know this isn't easy on him either, but I pause to take a deep breath, trying to remain patient with him. After letting it out, I reply, "I don't see how they can stay the same."

"But I like you, Anna. I want to be with you."

"You're having a baby with your ex", I utter bitterly, jealousy deciding to make an entrance. "You were together for a long time, you loved her. You're going to have a family together now."

"Yeah, loved", he enunciates. "But that's in the past."

"You loved her before, you can love her again, Kendall."

"Anna, don't be like that."

His face falls, and hurt shimmers in his eyes. I hate knowing I did that to him. "I'm sorry, Kendall. So sorry", I say and nestle my head into his chest.

His arms come around my back and he lets out a weary breath. "It's been a long day. Can we just not talk about this? At least not for tonight?", he suggests.

"Okay", I agree. I know this discussion is far from over but it has been rough on both of us, and I just want to enjoy the time I have with him. I pull away, "Wanna watch a movie?"

"Yeah, that sounds nice", he answers. We flip through the channels on t.v., finally deciding on a romantic comedy and Kendall kicks his shoes off and lays on his side, pulling me down in front of him. He drapes his arm over me, resting his hand over mine, and links the fingers of our hands together. I hear his steady breathing behind me, joined by a laugh every so often, and even though my eyes haven't left the t.v. screen I can't focus; my thoughts are running amuck and my mind is too unsettled.

Desperate for some type of distraction to get me out of my own head before I drive myself crazy, I turn over in Kendall's embrace and maneuver myself so I can kiss his neck. I slip my hands up the inside of his shirt and run my palms over his chest, letting my fingers massage him, working my mouth harder on his skin to get a reaction from him. This does the trick, for I hear a little chuckle from Kendall's throat and the vibrations from his chest as he pulls away and looks down at me. "What? You didn't get enough of me last night?", he teases.

"Just make love to me, Kendall", I whisper. He bites down onto his lip and I take the opportunity to get up and start walking towards my bedroom. I hear Kendall's footsteps following close behind and when I'm a foot away from the bed, I peel my t-shirt off and drop it to the floor. Kendall is quick to take notice and lowers me down gently onto the mattress and climbs aboard, pressing his lips to mine.

His kiss grows hungry and times passes by, until he has shed me of all of my clothes, and his mouth and hands have roamed my entire body. Frustration and a sense of helplessness set in, because I can't find what I was seeking; the warmth and comfort that comes from being in Kendall's arms. Instead I find numbness, my body unwilling to react to his kisses and touches that would normally set me ablaze.

His lips making their way back up my neck and over my jaw come back to mine. I turn my head quickly, knowing I can't return his kiss with passion, and squeeze my lips together tightly, as well as my eyes. My body tenses up on it's own accord and a single teardrop falls from each of the corners of my eyes as I feel Kendall pull away. "What's wrong?" he questions.

I open my eyes to see the beautiful blonde kneeling before me. "I can't do this", I tell him.

Confusion crosses his handsome face and he continues, "Why not?"

Reluctantly I grab the sheet and use it to cover my body, then come to a sitting position. "Kendall, I need you to go."

"What? Why?" he exclaims, remaining in place. I refuse to answer, not knowing exactly how to answer the question. Averting his gaze, I cross my arms over my chest and inspect my nails. An unknown amount of seconds pass, with me feeling Kendall's eyes burning a hole into my face. "It's because of Kelsey isn't?"

"Please Kendall, just leave", I plead. He has hit the nail on the head. How can I possibly stand in the way of this? I can't live with myself knowing that, quite possibly, if I remove myself from the situation, that Kendall and Kelsey may be able to re-ignite the flame of their love and provide their unborn baby a picture perfect childhood. Or that maybe old, remaining feelings will simply be re-kindled with the joyful news. Images keep flashing through my head: of Kendall holding Kelsey's hand at the hospital while she endures labor, of him singing softly to his newborn son or daughter as he cradles them in his arms, and of the proud new parents holding hands and smiling sweetly at eachother as they watch their new baby sleeping away peacefully in it's crib.

Kendall letting out a deep breath brings me back to the present situation. "Are you breaking up with me, Anna?", pain is evident in his voice.

I can't will myself to speak, knowing that if I do, the whimpers I'm trying so hard to hold back will rise up to the surface. I bite down onto the inside of my cheek and give a nod.

Kendall's breath comes whooshing out and I jump, startled when I feel his hands grip my shoulders. His voice is nothing but gentle at my ear, where he speaks. "Don't do this to me babe. Don't do it to yourself. We deserve this, we deserve to have an us. We've only just begun." I make no effort to answer or respond, I just freeze in place. With my eyes tightly squenched closed, I can almost picture the acknowledgement in his piercing green eyes as he hesitates, causing my already achy chest to tighten before he continues. "Just think about it please, Anna. I only want to be with you, but I know you're in a tricky situation right now and I won't push you. Just know that I care and I'll always be here for you if you change your mind." His fingers graze my cheeks, following the trail of hot tears that have spilled out as he places a kiss to my forehead, allowing his lips to linger briefly. I ball my hands into tight fists, resisting the urge to throw my arms around him.

I hear a loud, defeated sigh as he moves back, and I feel him get off the bed, all the while I sit there like a bump on a log. I hear him shuffling around, putting his clothes back on, and the last sound I hear before the first heart-wrenching sob takes over my body is Kendall whispering, "Bye, Anna", and the door closing behind him.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N I'm tired so the author's note is rather short, but it's all good XD Okay as usual, thank you from the bottom of my heart to you lovely reviewers, they do help to keep me motivated! SHOUT-OUTS ****paulag.2011****- it's so sad huh? XD ****childwhoiscool****- great review! XD ****annabellex2****- I know the whole situation sucks, but Anna kinda does have a point...guess we will see what happens XD ****FangedCutie-**** Yes it was a heck of a curveball huh? Thanks for your compliment, it put a smile on my face as always! Miss you still though but I know that life keeps you busy *hug* XD ****BigTimeFan50****- I feel for Anna too, it's just horrible all around for everyone XD ****Torilovesu****- here is your update, hope it didn't take too long for you XD ****BigTimeStarKid1****- I know it was so sad right? Stupid Kelsey just had to come along and screw things up :S I agree, Kendall and Anna are perfect for eachother! XD ****lotsalove573****- yes, i totally agree with everything you said, i mean hasn't poor Anna been through enough already?! XD ****Schmidten****- Wow, that would just be...wow, wow just wow lol XD ****Logan'sHoneyPie****- Yup i totally feel bad for Anna and Kendall both, yeah it's hard for her but in her eyes she made the right decision so...yeah XD **

**Anna's POV**

Not feeling much better than I did last week, I walk up to the Knight residence and ring the doorbell, almost begrudgingly. I'd rather be at home laying around watching movies in my sweats, but last week when I brought some stuff over here for Mrs. Knight's charity, she seemed so appreciative; so I offered up even more of my deceased parent's belongings. I figure it's not doing any good sitting around collecting dust, and there are needy people out there who could benefit from it. Plus, packing it up would give me something to do, and help to occupy my mind and my broken heart.

The heavy oak door opens and a smiling Mrs. Knight stands there. "Anna,", she greets me. "How are you?"

"I'm okay", I answer, although it's not really true. "I brought more stuff", I point towards my SUV.

"So I see. Let me go grab Mr. Knight so he can get it out for you."

"Oh no, I can help. I don't mind", I tell her.

"Nonsense. Let him take care of it", she remarks with a wave of her hand. "Honey, Anna's here with more stuff. You're needed!", she calls through the house then turns back in my direction. "Besides, I'd like to have a word with you." I feel nervous for some reason as she continues smiling at me. "Would you like some coffee?", she questions next.

"Sure", I shrug my shoulders, trying not to be rude as I wonder what the hell is going on.

I follow Mrs. Knight into the house and to the dining room, where she returns just a few short minutes later with two cups of coffee and she sets one down in front of me, then takes her own seat.

"Anna, Kendall was here last Thursday", the older woman speaks as she stirs the liquid in her mug with a spoon.

I chew at the bottom of my lip, unsure of how to respond. I hadn't spoken to him since I asked him to leave that fateful night. After a couple days of Kendall calling/texting me and even coming by my apartment and getting no response, he finally gave up trying to contact me. It's not that I wanted to be a bitch, but I love Kendall and I always will. It's just easier for me right now to let things go, and hope that maybe one day when emotions have calmed, that we can be friends again.

Thankfully after taking a sip from the mug sitting in front of her, she continues. "He told me what happened and he was quite upset about all of it."

I begin fidgeting with my fingers on top of the table and reply with a simple, "okay."

"I didn't really understand how much he cares about you, until just last week. And when we were out at dinner that night, I had no idea. I'm offering you my deepest apologies for my comments, I sincerely didn't intend to hurt you or make you feel uncomfortable."

"That's nice of you Mrs. Knight, but it's not necessary", I offer and take a drink of the steaming brown liquid in front of me.

"Oh honey it is. And I can see the despair on your face, I know that you feel the same way towards my son as he does about you. The whole situation is unfortunate on your part, bad timing, I guess. And I know it can't be easy on you, but I want you to know that I admire you for the decision you made about ending things with him."

I shrug and tear my eyes away from her soft blue orbs. "It's just what I had to do".

Footsteps coming through the foyer and a male voice calling out, "I've got it all!", interrupt the awkward moment. Mr. Knight enters the dining room and comes to a stop next to his wife.

I scoot my chair out, eager that it didn't take as long as I anticipated, ready to bail. "Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs Knight", I stand up and push the chair back in under it's rightful place at the table. "I-I'm gonna go now."

Mrs. Knight hastily lifts her small frame out of her seat and speaks my name, making me halt before I can even take a step. I stand in place as she makes her way over to me. "We know the last few years of your life have been rough on you, but you turned out to be a great girl. Now, don't be a stranger, feel free to stop by anytime. And if you need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to ask us okay honey?" I nod, and get surprised when she wraps her arms around me. I hug the silver-haired lady back and drop my arms, taking a step back.

Mr. Knight is just watching us with a smile on his face. He, too, walks to us and rests his hand on my shoulder and gives it a squeeze. "You'll be fine, and you'll do great things in life. You're a special girl, Anna", he gives me a wink.

I can't deny being surprised at their hospitality as I utter a quick, "thank you", and start the walk out through the house.

...

We follow the annoyingly cheerful hostess to our table and for the second time today I'm wishing I could be at home chilling on my couch. But my oh so lovely friends Jessica and Mandy have had enough with me bumming around, they came to my apartment a few hours ago and not so politely told me that I need to get my ass up out of the house and do something. Of course, I tried to wiggle my way out of it, but those two girls are relentless. I was told to shower, do my hair and make-up, and get dressed because we were going to have a girl's night out; consisting of dinner, a movie, and drinks. There were no if's, and's or but's about it, they were doing this for me, and oh yeah- they were persistent and merciless until I was up off the couch and in the shower. Alas, here we are.

The hostess seats us and lets us know that our waitress will be with us in just a moment before prancing off back to the entrance of the restaurant. I listen to Jessica and Mandy banter on about boys and what's going on in the world, until our waitress comes and takes our drink orders. It's only a minute until the peppy blonde returns with our drinks and takes our dinner orders. Not having much of an appetite as usual, per the last week and a half, I order just a simple salad. Jessica and Mandy give her their orders, then turn to me.

"So what movie do you wanna see?", Mandy asks.

"I don't know", I shrug. "I haven't really been paying attention to what new movies are playing."

"Hmmm", Jessica says and taps her finger on her chin. "Well, there's that new drama with Reese Witherspoon, where her daughter gets kidnapped." She looks at me, waiting for my reaction.

I shake my head no. "What else?"

"Umm that new romantic comedy with Jennifer Aniston and Chris Greer?"

I make a face to show my displeasure and Mandy jumps in, "How about_ The Apparition_, you know the scary one with the Twilight girl?"

"Yeah, we'll just see that", I agree. Horror movies aren't exactly my favorite, but it's the best choice I've heard so far tonight. Conversation turns to Halloween, which is next month; my friends are planning a party.

"What are you gonna dress up as?", I'm questioned.

I just shrug. "I don't know, but there's plenty of time to think about it before then, I guess."

My mind just wanders aimlessly while they discuss different options until the waitress brings our food. After offering a quick thanks, they dig in but I just kind of push the salad around on the plate, not feeling even the least bit hungry. As I'm taking a sip of my water, I notice both Jessica and Mandy turning their heads back in the direction of their plates, looking at eachother with wide eyes. I turn to see what caught their attention and feel my heart drop to my feet.

Carlos, James, Logan, Kendall, and Kelsey are being lead to a table not even twenty feet away. "Holy fuck! Oh my gosh, Anna. I'm so sory I didn't know they were gonna be here", Mandy exclaims. I can tell she's taken by surprise, I mean even I didn't even know that the guys were back yet. They left last week to shoot a video and weren't supposed to be back for at least three more days.

I'm friends with all three of the other members of BTR, but I'm the closest with Carlos. We've kept in touch; he's a super sweet guy checking in every few days to see how I'm doing. We don't talk about Kendall, I guess you could say that it's like a mutual understanding between the two of us; I don't ask about him and Carlos doesn't talk about him.

"I'll call the waitress over for the check and then we can get out of here."

"But what about your meals? Aren't you two hungry?", I ask my friends.

"Food is food, honey. We can find something somewhere else. You're our friend and we're not staying here a second longer than we have to". Jessica reaches across the table and pats my hand.

Now I feel guilty for getting upset at my friend's earlier, when all they have is the best of intentions for me. Unfortunately for me though, I am facing the other table. A really loud female laugh comes from in that direction, and curiosity gets the best of me, I can't help but to sneak a peek over that way. What I see makes me want to vomit and hurl my water glass at the bombshell, who catches my eye and places her hand on Kendall's arm, then begins to run her fingers up and down his forearm. I don't like to think badly about anyone, but I get the feeling that she's trying to show off. I avert my gaze to my food, trying to make it look like I'm not bothered, and take an unwanted bite of the salad.

Before I can even swallow, Carlos comes over and gives me a hug and drags an empty chair close to me. "How are you?", he asks as he sits down.

"I'm hanging in there", I say and can't help when the corners of my mouth turn up into a tiny semblance of a smile. Carlos's smile just has that effect on you, it's infectious.

"Atta girl. You know we all miss you though". I look back over to other guys, who somehow look over at the same time and wave, all except for Kendall. He's just sitting there looking like he's lost in another world, his face is void of any expression.

I return their waves and sigh, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "I know, but it's just kinda hard ri-", but Kelsey's loud booming voice echoing through the restaurant cuts me off.

"Yeah my mom already can't stop talking about the babyshower. She's so excited about her first granchild. Pretty soon it's gonna be the biggest news around town; power couple Kelsey Swanson and Kendall Knight are back together and having a baby!" As if she senses I'm looking, she throws a smug smirk in my direction. My parents didn't teach me to hate anyone, but I'm pretty close to feeling hatred towards this girl. Never in my life have I ever wanted to stab someone's eye out with a fork so badly.

In response, I tense up, not oblivious to Carlos, who rubs my leg and whispers, "Ignore her." I sneak another peek and see Kendall looking at me. I turn away as soon as I possibly can, but not before noticing that Kelsey is leaning so close to him that their bodies are touching. Jealousy floods my body, intensifying the crack in my already severed heart. I catch a look of pity reflecting in Carlos's soft chocolate brown eyes and the look of sympathy from my two girl friends, and then feel fresh tears biting at my eyes.

"I-I have to get out of here now", I choke out and stand up, where I proceed to rush out of the restaurant.

A couple hours later, I'm laying on one end of the couch, and Carlos is laying on the other side, as we watch one of my favorite movies 13 _Going On_ 30 with the lights off. He had come over to check on me after dinner and has been attempting to cheer me up, like a good friend does. An empty bowl of popcorn rests between us when suddenly the doorbell rings, and I hop up to open it, expecting it to be either Jessica or Mandy.

But to my surprise, when I open the door, I am greeted with a distraught looking Kendall standing there, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. "Anna please talk to me, I miss you", he asks.

I don't know why but I wave him in. I watch as he takes a few steps then stops. "I don't like Kelsey. I can't stand her. She drives me crazy. She-she just...she isn't you." He puts his hands in his pockets.

"Kendall, I-", I try but don't know what to say.

"I love you", he blurts out. "I can't stand this anymore. I need you, I need you in my life, even if it's only for one more night."

"No, Kendall", I speak bluntly. My heart is heavy, and I feel just as much pain as he does, but there's no way around this, I just can't knowing that he's gonna have a baby.

He reaches his arms out to me, "Let me hold you, please. Or just a hug", he pleads. He turns toward the couch and I notice him clench his jaw, then he faces me again. "Carlos is here?", he asks.

"Yeah, we were watching a movie", I respond.

In the poor lit room, I watch his face fall and his eyes narrow. "Anna, are you seeing Carlos? Are you sleeping with him?", Kendall's voice gets louder, his long fingers now come to grip my shoulders tightly and he starts shaking me. "Oh my God, you're fucking one of my best friends", he's full on shouting now.

I'm kinda frozen in shock, but before I can respond, Carlos shoves him out of my face. "Leave her alone", he tells Kendall sternly.

"You guys are screwing eachother behind my back! I love her!", he yells and takes a step back toward me.

"No Kendall", I try to defend myself.

Carlos wraps his hands around Kendall's arms and forcefully backs him to the door. "Nothing is happening. Come on, bro, you're drunk. Let's get you out of here."

I hear mumbling back and forth, then Kendall's voice breaks and he lets out a sob that pierces my heart. Next thing I know, Carlos is leading him out the door and he pauses just long enough to call out, "I'll text you later", before closing the door behind them.

I'm horrified, baffled that Kendall could think that about Carlos and I. I sink to my knees consumed with pain, wondering what the hell am I doing even staying here? Nothing but bad things have happened since I moved here to California, maybe it's time for a change. There are a lot of things I don't know about right now, but one thing I'm sure of is that this city is not big enough for both Kendall and I.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N Welcome back to another chapter readers! Sorry this update took so long, I just kinda couldn't get it togther but here it is. It is shorter than the other chapters, but it's needed, so yea. Hope you enjoy. And as always, a big thank you to all of you lovely reviewers, you make my writing world go round! SHOUT-OUTS ****ArianaMaslowBTR25****- I know, it's just all so sad huh? Hope this came fast enough for ya! XD ****jackieX3****- awww thanks, i'm glad you love my stories! Hehe my lips are sealed... XD ****Schmidten****- bahahaha ok your review made me laugh, til you said you were crying *hug* i think we are all frustrated with Kelsey at this point! XD ****childwhoiscool****- awesome review as always XD ****paulag.2011****- maybe? read on to find out sweetie XD ****BigTimeStarKid1****- I have to say that yes Kelsey gets worse with each chapter! Yes Mrs. Knight was pretty sweet huh? Well i'm glad you liked that chapter, hope you like this one as well! XD ****BigTimeFan50****- I have to agree with your way of thinking, if I was in Anna's shoes, it would kill me! XD ****Logan's Honey Pie****- Yeah I agree, it was nice of Anna to still help out Mrs. Knight. And yeah Kelsey is a total poo-poo head! And Carlos, yes what a sweetheart, oh god! Hehe well I won't keep ya from reading with a long ass A/N so you may proceed. XD ****DeniseDEMD- ****Hehe glad you like that totally different, emotional Kendall. As for Kelsey, yeah she does need to go away XD ****Boysboysboys love em****- your review killed me, like i couldn't catch my breath for a minute! I love that, no lie! #TeamKanna? I dig, that is some awesome sh*t girl! XD ****Ileana****-no worries, reviews are not required, but i do appreciate them! lol Yes, yes, a lot of things have happened. Well, read on to find out what happens next my dear XD**

**Anna's POV**

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

The car stops and several seconds pass before my door comes open. Carlos looks over at me. "Are you sure you wanna do this?", he asks.

I throw him a little smile to assure him that I do. "Yeah. You did say he's at the studio today right?"

He nods. "Yup. James confirmed it before I scooped you up."

"Ok, I'll be right back then", I tell him.

The latino extends his hand to pat my leg, and feeling confident at what I'm about to do, I exit the limo and listen to the sound of my heels clacking on the concrete as I make my way up to the door. As I reach out and push the button to ring the doorbell with my index finger, my heart is pounding so hard that I can hear the blood pumping in my ears; I'm unsure of what to expect.

The large wooden door comes open to reveal Kelsey standing there, and I bite back a disappointed sigh when my eyes zoom in on her rounded tummy. This was my last hope in the world, that the life I've been living for the past few weeks was a lie; that Kelsey isn't really pregnant. But she is, and standing here in front of her right now confirms that I'm doing the right thing.

"Anna", she calls out my name sounding somewhat surprised.

I plaster a fake smile on my face and begin what I had been practicing. "Kelsey, I haven't spoken to Kendall in two weeks now. You know he's my best friend and I love him dearly." I pause to take a breath, and the blonde beauty nods her head. "Well I know it hasn't been easy for him with me around." I leave out the fact that my heart is breaking in two, and that I'm losing my best friend all over again, as well as the only person I have ever genuinely cared for. "So I've decided to move back with my family in Colorado." I sneak another glance at her belly and feel tears welling up in my eyes. "Kendall means the world to me, you know? I just want you to take care of him, and make him happy. He deserves that."

Kelsey reaches out to squeeze my hands, then lets them go. "Oh honey, you know I will." She rubs her stomach and smiles. "I still love him and I'll do my best for him and our baby."

I chew on the bottom of my lip, then utter, "K", and point my thumb back towards the limo. "Well I guess I should be going now. Have a great life", I tell her before turning around and walking back to the waiting car.

No matter how many times I told myself that I wouldn't cry, or as hard as I tried not to, the tears began their escape from my eyes as I slid back into the seat beside Carlos. Of course, Carlos being Carlos, he pulls me into him and wraps his arm around my shoulder as I sob into his chest. "Are you really sure this is what you want? A move is a big change", he tells me softly.

I just nod and turn my head to rest my cheek on his shoulder, grateful to have him here to assist me. After picking me and my two suitcases and purse up from my empty apartment, he took me to say goodbye to Jame and Logan. I had already done my thing with the two best friends a girl could ever have in the entire world, Jessica and Mandy, this morning. This decision is something I've thought about for a few weeks, and I find solace in it. I mean, three horrible, life changing incidents have occurred since I moved here to California, and what is that saying they say in baseball? Three strikes you're out. Well, number one would be my parents' death, the next is the whole Justin occurrence, and third, there's me losing Kendall. There's only so much a person can take, and I've hit my max. I have to get away from here and start a new life away from all of these memories.

...

**Kendall's POV**

**TWO MONTHS LATER**

I look over at the clock. It's 9:47 on a Saturday morning and for once I don't have to work, which means I'll be inviting the guys over to play games and drink some beer. I feel a little bit of hope remembering that Kelsey has plans today. It's not that I despise her, but I've been kinda forced into a relationship I don't want. What makes it worse is that my parents had a talk with me about a month after I found out Kelsey was pregnant and somehow I was guilt-tripped into proposing to Kelsey, assured by both of my parents that they raised me to do the right thing. And then, without me having a say in anything, it was agreed that Kelsey would move back into my place right away, and that we would be married before she has the baby.

So here I am, stuck in a rut waking up next to someone I don't love in my bed every morning. I'm hanging in here, patiently waiting for something to change, but as time nears closer to the wedding, I feel closed in; overwhelmed. I'm as nice as I can be to Kelsey; I know she's got good intentions with having the baby and everything, but unfortunately I just don't feel anything for her. It's weird, we were together before and I loved her; once she was my everything. But that special place now belongs to Anna even though it's been a while, and I can't help but to always think what would Anna and I be doing today, if I had never gotten Kelsey pregnant.

The sound of Kelsey humming as she does something downstairs cuts into my thoughts, and the smell of burnt pancakes wafts up through the bedroom door to my nose almost making me gag. I run my hands down my face, then head to the bathroom to start getting ready for the day.

After brushing my teeth, I hear the doorbell ring but pay no attention to it, figuring it's just my mom coming over to pick Kelsey up to do some baby shopping. My mom is over the moon excited about her first grandchild of course, and knowing her, she probably was up at the crack of dawn looking at stuff online and in newspaper ads. I haven't gotten too worked up about being a dad yet, but my mom says I will once the baby's here and I get to hold him. The sonogram last month confirmed that it's a boy, and since then my mom has gone all baby-zilla on us. I just shake my head at the thought and turn the shower on before getting undressed.

Fifteen minutes later I exit the bathroom and hear muffled voices that seem to be arguing downstairs. I listen on the best I can as I put on my boxers, a t-shirt, and a pair of jeans, and noting that one of the voices is an unfamiliar male tone, I creep down the stairs in curiosity to see what's going on. "Be quiet, he's upstairs!", Kelsey orders in a hushed whisper.

"I don't care. I just need to know", the male voice snaps back.

"Look, I have plans today. We'll meet up some other time to discuss this."

"He deserves to know, too!" the man yells. I creep further down the steps, and see Kelsey and a tall, dark haired man standing face to face, both looking intensely at eachother. Kelsey's hands are at the sides of her face, and she looks panicked. The guys's fists are balled up in his hands in rage.

"Please just don't do this right now, Eric", Kelsey is pleading. "I'll meet you for lunch tomorrow and we talk about it, okay?"

I reach the bottom of the steps and cross my arms over my chest, both Kelsey and this Eric dude are too caught up in their conversation to notice me standing here. Before he has a chance to respond, I ask, "And exactly what is it that the two of you need to speak about?" Anna spins towards my direction, eyes wider than saucers and her mouth gaped open.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N Woo-Hoo! Another chapter is upon us, it's kinda short like the last one, but we're getting places. For any of you who may be wondering, the story will be coming to an end in two or three more chapters. As always a BIG THANKS to you awesome reviewers and readers, you keep me motivated! SHOUT-OUTS ****BigTimeFan50****- Yes Kelsey, we all hate her XD ****BigTimeStarKid1****- Haha yes Carlos _ such a cutie pie...Hehe well, idk just read XD ****childwhoiscool****- great review XD ****paulag.2011****- I know it's so sad that Anna left right? *sad face* XD ****annabelleX2****- Hmmm, that's all I'm gonna say ;D ****Guest****- How lovely would it be IF the baby isn't Kendall's? Thank you so much for your compliments, they mean a lot and zi'm also like 'wow' that you read like 6 of my stories over the weekend XD ****Schmidten****- *hug* awww, don't cry...lmao at your review, it's cracking me up. O.O NO, don't hurt the kitty! XD ****Logan's Honey Pie****- A lot happened right? I won't reveal anything, but read on to see what happens XD ****DeniseDEMD****- Kelsey makes me angry as well, and we are all hoping that the baby isn't Kendall's...stay tuned for answers ;D ****Ileana****- Hehe, well I tried to update as sooon as possible and this isn't much but next chapter will be better XD ****Boysboysboys love em****- Hehe girl your reviews are epic! Okay so we all have a lot of the same thoughts, answers to any questions/thoughts will be answered soon, so stay tuned! oh and i am totally with you on #TeamKanna4ever!**

**Anna's POV**

The doorbell rings and I toss the envelope into the trashcan as I walk past it on my journey to the door. The majority of my morning was spent with it in my hand as I laid on the couch in a funk. _It_ is a wedding invitation that arrived in the mail weeks ago to Kendall and Kelsey's wedding, which happens to be today. I'm sure they, or even Kelsey sent it with nothing but the best of intentions, but my heartache is still too fresh even though it's been several months that I moved away back to Colorado. Instead of going back to where I grew up, I moved to a small, quaint town; it's countryside and quiet, much different from the fast paced life I was used to living in L.A., but I like it and I find that it suits me quite well. Upon coming back, I found a job as a receptionist at the animal clinic and in the evenings I go to the local community college where I'm studying to become a veterinarian. I've always adored animals, so why not do something that involves me helping them.

I arrive at the door and take a quick moment to smooth down the front of my skirt almost nervously before I open it to greet a smiling Ron. I must admit he looks pretty good dressed in black dress pants and a dark gray button down; I've only seen him dressed in scrubs at work, and somehow I've overlooked just how attractive he is. He asked me out a few weeks after I started working there, but I politley shot him down, telling him that I'm not interested in anything with anyone right now. We've become pretty good friends and I've grown quite close to Ron. With everything that had happened within the past few years, it took time for me to build my trust for him and to open up fully to confide in him completely about my past. So the day after the wedding invitation arrived in my mailbox, I was pretty bummed about it at work, and Ron noticed and asked about it. After I told him, he being the great friend that he is, offerred to take me out tonight, as friends only. I declined right away, but after thinking better of it last night, I knew moping around the house all day wouldn't change the fact that the man I love is getting married to someone else. Nonetheless, I called Ron and told him I changed my mind and thankfully he hadn't made other plans, and here we are now.

Ron's hand reaches out from behind his back and I can't help it when my lips curve up into a smile. "Ro-on", I groan, taken aback by his thoughtfulness.

"I know it's not a date, but I thought maybe some flowers would help to cheer you up a bit more."

"Aww thanks. You are so sweet", I tell him and extend my arm towards the couch to motion him to sit down while I put them in a vase and fill it with water.

An hour later we're at the Italian Restaurant eating and having a merry time when I look at the clock and realize that it's seven o'clock, the exact time that the ceremony for the wedding is supposed to begin. My heart drops and I guess this is it, that part where someone else becomes Mrs. Knight and Kendall whisks her off for a romantic honeymoon, then they head back home to have a beautiful baby and live the perfect life I wanted with him.

"Hey Anna, you okay?", I hear from across the table.

I shake my head to clear the thoughts from my mind. "Yeah, I'm okay", I respond and offer a smile.

Ron's eyes narrow at me, and my cheeks heat up a bit, I know he can read my thoughts. "He's an idiot you know."

"He's not. I am. I'm the one who let him go", I sigh and rest my back against the chair.

Ron pats my hand that sits on the table. "But you did it for a good reason, honey."

"I know. I just wish it was easier. And I didn't expect to feel this bad as I do today."

Ron's mouth gapes open in a mocking way. "You trying to say that I'm not good company?"

I smirk and playfully swat at his arm. "No, you're the best company I could have right now goofball. I just...I don't know. It's been months and it still hurts like hell. I just don't know why or even how it all happened."

"You obviously care a lot about him and that's perfectly normal. You'll get over him in time and be ready to move on eventually. And everything happens for a reason. I'd give you an answer if I could but unfortunately I can't."

"You're the best."

"Anything for you, cupcake. And hey if you want, when I take you home we can have a total girl's night. I'll let you paint my nails and put make-up on me, and we're share juicy secrets."

"You're a nerd", I tell him and erupt into a fit of giggles. Before I can say anything else, his phone rings and he pulls it from his pocket before answering it. "Hello?", he answers it. I stay quiet for the next minute or so as he takes turns listening and speaking. "What happened?" "Is she okay?" "Alright, I have to take Anna home first then I'll be right there okay?" He tucks his phone back into his pocket and looks at me apologetically. "That was my brother, my cousin was in an accident and is in the hospital", he says.

"Oh my gosh. Is she okay?", I ask, concerned.

"He didn't really say and I'm sorry to-", he begins but I instantly cut him off as I put my hand out.

"Go, just go", I usher him.

He stands up and starts putting his coat on, and then he pulls his wallet out.

"No, your cousin is more important. I'll take care of this and call a cab. I'll be hoping for the best. Call me later and let me know okay?", I rise and give him a kiss on his cheek and squeeze his hand.

As I exit the restaurant, I realize one thing I definitely do miss from Cali is the warm weather. It's early November and already 40 degrees in the evening. I pull my coat closer to my body and wrap my arms around myself, not quite ready to go home yet. I choose not to call a cab, instead I decide to take a walk. I let my feet carry me around as my mind wanders off and I realize how much fun I actually had going out tonight. Now maybe knowing that Kendall is starting a new life, I can finally let go and give dating a try. It doesn't have to be anything serious, just someone to hang out with. If Ron and I weren't such great friends, I'd consider dating him but I can't lose another great person in my life that way.

My feet carry me around the marina and I admire the twinkling lights reflecting off the water as I stroll, but the cold proves to be too much for me, so I continue on to the bakery I passed on the way, intent on getting a hot chocolate to warm myself up. The bell above the door rings when I enter and my nose is filled with sweet scents as I pull my gloves from hands and shove them into my coat pockets. I head straight to the counter, grateful that there is no line and just a handful of people occupying the booths and tables of the homey little store.

"Can I help you?", the pudgy red head behind the counter asks.

"Yes. Can I have a large hot chocolate with whipped cream on top please?"

"Sure. It'll be $1.49."

I hand her a couple of dollars from my purse and drop the change into the tip jar as she turns away and utters, "Just a minute."

I reply with a "thank you", and move to check out the array of desserts hidden behind the clear case when I think I hear someone call my name. I turn around and look, but don't see anyone familiar.

"Anna", I hear it this time clear as day and spin around quickly, freezing in my tracks as soon as my eyes meet those familiar green orbs of the man I've been missing for about four months now.

"K-Kendall", I stutter. He's walking towards me slowly, as if he can't believe he's seeing me. He stops when he's only an arm's length away now and touches my hand before letting his hand fall back down to his side.

We both just kinda stand there staring at eachother until the lady behind the counter calls for me several times. "Ma'am, ma'am".

"I gotta-", I point behind me and go to get my hot chocolate. "Thanks", I call out once more to the employee and take a sip, feeling shaken up. When I turn back around, Kendall is still there. "So what are you doing here?", I ask. I honestly don't know how I meant for it to come out, but I'm not going to beat around the bush.

"I was hoping we could talk."


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N Okay so this really isn't an author's note, I want to thank you all once again from the bottom of my heart for the fabulous reviews, you'll never know how much they mean to me. And I'm sorry I'm not doing shout-outs, I have been feeling like crap all day and have pushed myelf to the max simply writing this, so I hope no one is offended. And there will be one more chapter after this. Thanks for being so understanding.**

"Umm, okay", I tell Kendall and motion towards a few empty booths.

His eyes soften and he cocks his head to the side a bit. "Do you think we could go somewhere else, you know for a little more privacy?", he asks sheepishly.

"Sure", I shrug. "Were you staying somewhere? Or my house is always an option."

"Doesn't matter", he shrugs and rocks on the heels of his feet. "But I am staying over at the Marriott like two blocks away."

"Alright. We'll just go there then", I say. I put my gloves back on and watch as he zips his coat up, then we begin walking.

"I am really not accustomed to this cold weather." Kendall buries his hands into his pockets and smiles over at me.

I laugh. "Yeah it takes some getting used to I guess".

It doesn't take long for us to make it to the hotel, walking quickly and making small chit-chat as we go along. Once we're inside his room, we shrug our coats off and hang them up, then sit down. I sit on the sofa, and he takes a seat across from me on the bed. I look over Kendall; he looks mostly the same, except for his face is missing it's glow, his hair is longer, and he seems to have lost a bit of weight. He hasn't shaved in a few days and his cheeks and nose are rosy from being outside. I fold my hands in my lap, resisting the urge to push his bangs out of his face. A minute goes by as we sit in awkward silence, and I sneek a peek at Kendall's left hand, taking note that the ring finger of his left hand is bare, not encircled by a ring.

"So umm", I try to start.

"Yeah, the reason why I'm here." He takes a deep breath and places his elbows on his knees. "Well, a lot of shit went down recently. I found out that Kelsey had been cheating on me with this guy Eric, and she moved in with him when she left and went to New York."

"Wow", is all I can muster, quite shocked to hear this.

"Yeah and her baby might not be mine after all."

"What?!", I exclaim.

He rubs at the back of his neck, then runs his hands down his face before linking his fingers together in front of him. "Apparently she's been sleeping with both of us all along. And she lied to me. I heard her talking to someone, a man I don't know, so I eavesdropped for a minute and when I asked about it, she lied right in my face. Her and that Eric guy both. UGH!" He's clearly distraught, I just don't know what to say; I'm in shock myself.

Kendall sits straight up and places his hands on the mattress at his sides. "But the other day she left her phone on the coffeetable and it kept ringing while I was trying to watch t.v. So I picked it up and before I had a chance to say anything, a male voice was at the other end. He said 'I'm getting tired of waiting around Kelsey. If you don't tell him, I will' Naturally, I asked who it was, but they hung up. So I called back the number several times with no response and decided to do some investigating. After going through her text messages, I knew something was up. So I waited a couple more hours before texting the number back from her phone saying to meet me the next day for lunch. I didn't even tell her, I just deleted the messages. So then I go to the place to meet the guy, and I recognize him as the one who was at my house. I confronted him and told him I was the one who sent the text, and he is the one who told me everything. He didn't hold back any details, she was playing us both, and he didn't get such a crappy end of the deal; he got a broken heart."

"I'm not a violent person but I was seeing red and wanted to kill her at that time. I was so pissed, so fucked up. I went to my parents and even the guys for advice, they all said the same thing. That I just have to hang in there. But I couldn't Anna. I felt like I was going insane, like I couldn't breathe and that I was suffocating. I had to get out, get away from there. I mean does she know what she did to me, what she cost me? Everything with you and my family...my mom was so excited, looking forward to having her first grandchild. She was pretty upset. But mostly you, Anna. I can't get over what she did to us."

"Kendall", I say softly, but he shakes his head and continues.

"I did some research and found out that they can do a DNA test on an un-born fetus. Kelsey didn't agree to it when I first suggested it, but Eric somehow talked her into it and the procedure was done a few days ago. The doctor said it can take up to a week to get the results, but I'm hoping it doesn't take that long. I just feel like I'm falling apart." When Kendall looks up at me, I can see just how haggard he really does look, his green eyes look lost.

"And then I found out that you moved. All this time I thought you were just avoiding me, staying away from places you might run into me at. But the guys, they didn't tell me because they were trying to protect me. I mean I guess I understand, I probably would have went ape shit on them. But I got it out of them after this whole thing blew up. I had to find you Anna, to know that if that isn't my baby, do I get another chance with you? It was wrongfully taken away and I haven't stopped. I didn't even have the chance to tell you. I love you, Anna."

What I want more than anything is to tell Kendall that I love him too, but my blood is boiliing, so I push my own anger to the side, imagining what Kendall must be feeling right now; his whole world was ripped apart. I myself had even went so far as to talk to her before I left and she had the nerve to stand there and look innocent.

"Just tell me, Anna. Do I? Will we pick back up where we left off if it's not mine?", his voice weakens and he looks so desperate, I can practically hear his heart breaking.

I walk over and pull his head into my chest. "Yes", I whisper and wrap my arms around him. He sighs and puts his arms around my back, squeezing me tight and I realize he's shaking. I bow my head down and kiss the top of his head, running my hand soothingly through his hair. "It's okay, Kendall. I'm here now. And I'm sorry, so sorry."

When I wake up the sun is streaming through the blinds, and I'm laying wrapped up in Kendall's embrace. We're face to face with our forehead together, my leg thrown over his, his arm holding tightly around my back. I scoot back carefully and look him over, he looks so peaceful and I can't help the smile that spreads across my face. We're both fully clothed, and nothing happened except for us falling asleep in eachother's arms. We didn't even talk anymore, there was nothing left for either of us to say.

I'm content watching Kendall sleep, I've missed being so close to him. I watch him chest rise and fall with each breath and feel like this is the perfect moment. It's just there with us, in his touches, in his kisses; no one ever has or ever will make me feel the way he does. And yeah things happen, but no matter what anyone says or does, no matter how you roll the dice, the odds are gonna be in our favor; Kendall and I need eachother.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N Last chapter, ladies! I'm sad that this is coming to an end, but all things do right? Once again, thank you to all of you lovely reviewers and readers, you are amazing. Especially you reviewers, as I have said before you'll never know how much each and every single review means to me. *muah* a big kiss to those of you have been kind of enough to leave reviews, and for the last time for this story, SHOUT-OUTS: ****jackiex3****- haha well thank you, lmao about the Jerry Springer comment..and let me just say thank you for being a constant supporter and leaving reviews XD ****childwhoiscool-**** great review as always, i really appreciate your reviews! XD ****Logan's Honey Pie****- Hehe a lot of people had the same suspicion...Yes it's sad that the story is coming to an end, but it is what it is right? And thank you, I sure do hope this is good, although it's not exactly what I wanted it to be. And mucho gracias for all of your continuous support! XD ****DeniseDEMD****- I'm glad you liked it. And thanks so much for hoping I feel better, I absolutely do lol. Yes I agree, Kelsey is a terrible person. Thanks so much for all of your support XD ****Ileana****- thanks, glad you liked it. I know endings are sad but it's okay, I'll write more XD ****annabellex2****- I was so glad to put them back together myself...read on to find out what happens, and thanks for all of your support, you're a loyal reviewer XD ****IheartKendall****- I'm so glad that you loved this, and thanks for taking the time to leave a review XD ****BigTimeFan50****- Yes they have been through a lot and don't need to go through a bunch of crap. Thank you sincerely for all your reviews XD **

**ANNA'S POV**

"This is nice, huh?", Kendall asks me.

"Yeah", I nod with my head still laying on his shoulder. I snuggle in closer and he drapes his arm over my shoulder. I pull the blanket up higher and tighter around both of our bodies.

"A new year, a new us", he says.

I smile up at him before replying, "Yeah. This is definitely going to be a better year for us." Kendall and I did a lot of talking when he came here to Colorado in October to find me, and needless to say we got back together. Our love for eachother just runs too deep for us to stay apart, and I'm not going to let anything keep us separated.

Today is New Year's Day and Kendall, myself, Carlos, Logan, James, Jessica, Mandy, and Logan's girlfriend came out to Colorado for the week. We rented out a cabin in a secluded area of the mountains, to get away one last night before things change.

Next month is February, when Kelsey's baby is due. According to the DNA test, Kendall is the biological father. Yeah it was a blow to us, but it's nothing we can't handle as long as we have eachother. Kelsey wasn't too happy to find out we were reunited but after what she put us through, I don't really care. Kendall doesn't trust her, and neither do I of course, but I'll be civil for the sake of the baby, and even help Kendall out. Kelsey moved out of Kendall's house to her own apartment, and I moved back to L.A, and in Kendall's house. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that I was ever even jealous of Kelsey, because now I feel nothing but sadness for her, but she did this to herself. Even Eric doesn't want anything to do with her. Kendall will pay support for the baby and has even gone to a lawyer to draw up papers about visitation rights and such.

I didn't realize I had gotten quiet until I feel Kendall kiss my cheek. "What are you thinking about babe?"

"Last night". I smile and look down to my left hand, replaying a distinct memory in my head. _The party was in full swing, all of us dressed up to the nines, excited to be celebrating, ready to ring in the New Year. We were all sitting around the large dining room table playing couple's poker, when Carlos brought out several bottles of alcohol and started pouring drinks. There was vodka, beer, wine, brandy, and a bottle of champagne waiting to be opened at midnight. He went around asking everyone what they wanted, when it was my turn I delicned as politely as I possibly could. _

_ "Come on, loosen up Anna. It's a celebration", Logan urged._

_ I could remember all the times Justin was drunk and in my face, the memory of alcohol on his breath made my stomach churn. Well that combined with the same reason my black dress stuck to me like a glove; I'm pregnant. Last week I had missed my period but thought nothing of it at first, it comes a day or two late sometimes. Well a whole week passed and I didn't want to bother Kendall about it until I knew for sure at first, but this morning I finally got the nerve to take the pregnancy test I bought last week and hid inside my suitcase when we were packing for the trip. In the time it took for me to lay the test down and wash my hands, two bright pink lines were staring me down, confirming what I had already suspected. Needless to say I haven't told him yet, I decided to wait until we get home so we can have our own moment together. Honestly I'm kinda scared of what his reaction will be, he already has one baby on the way._

_ "No thank you", I say again and shake my head._

_ Kendall looks at me until I raise my eyebrow in question. "It's okay to have a drink if you want to sweetie. You did a few weeks ago at Jessica's party."_

_ "I know. I just don't feel like it tonight." I keep my eyes down to the table._

_ "Okay". I could still feel him staring at me and heat crept up to my cheeks as well as the guilt that rose up in me. "Is everything alright?", he asked, putting his hand on my arm._

_ "Yeah", I replied, but the moment I looked into his eyes I knew I couldn't lie or hide it anymore, I need to tell him now. "I'm really hot. Can we go sit outside for a few minutes?"_

_ Kendall look puzzled but he agreed and announced to everyone to continue playing without us. I could feel everyone looking at me, but I didn't care. He escorted me out to the patio from the back door and closed the doors behind us._

_ "Okay, Anna. I know something is going on, you're acting nervous. Spill it", Kendall said._

_ I rubbed at my bare arms against the chill outside and blurted it out. "I'm pregnant." I kept my eyes fixed to my feet, afraid of what his reaction would be._

_ His voice was soft as he spoke, making me look up into his face. He didn't look mad or upset. "You are?"_

_ "Yes."_

_ "How far along? When did-"_

_ "I just found out this morning, Kendall. I missed my period last week." _

_ He comes to me, until he's merely three inches away. "We're going to have our very own baby? It's in there?", he points to my stomach._

_ I can't help but to giggle. "Yes, Kendall._

_ He drops to his knees, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Hi baby. I'm your daddy", Kendall talks to my still flat belly and gently scratches it, then out of nowhere he springs up and lifts me up, twirling me around. "Oh my gosh, we're having a baby." Kendall sets me down and takes a hold of my hand and starts running back inside. I follow him and he stops when we get to the table. "Stay here, I'll be right back." Kendall kisses my cheek then runs off at a high speed like he's on crack or something, and I turn to see eight sets of eyes on me. _

_ I shrug, feeling as clueless as they do. "I have no idea what he's doing", I answer._

_ Before anyone else can say anything, the room is filled with the sound of his footsteps bounding down the stairs and everyone's faces are filled with quizzical looks. When Kendall returns, he stops in front of me and kneels down onto one knee, and takes my hands in his. "Anna's pregnant everybody", he announces, then adds, "It's my baby." I watch as he pulls a blue velvet box out of his pocket and instantly I feel dizzy and start shaking. He looks down to the floor, then back up at me with the biggest smile I've ever seen on his face._

_ "I-I was gonna do this later tonight, but I can't wait." He squeezes my hand and I take a second to brush his sweaty bangs from his forehead. "Hell I don't even know what to say. I had it all planned out but here in the moment, it all slipped from my mind. I love you, Anna. Umm, I love everything about you, and how you make me feel. I love who I am when I'm with you." His mouth is running a mile a minute, his face is flushed red, and his eyes are dancing around wildly. He pauses to take a breath. "We've been through a lot and I can't imagine spending the rest of my life without you. Or with anyone else but you."_

_ I dab at a few tears that snuck out of the corner of my eyes and down my cheeks and put my hand back in his. Unshed tears are glistening in his eyes and his chin is quivering as he tries to finish. "I-what I'm trying to ask you Anna, is if you'll do me the honor of becoming my wife. Marry me?"_

_ "Yes", I throw my arms around his neck and kiss him hard as he slips the ring onto my finger and stands up, wrapping his arms tightly around me. I didn't even look at the ring, it doesn't matter what it looks like. We hold onto eachother as our tears of joy mingle and trial down both of our faces. We can hear the sounds of our friends' "ooohs" and "ahhhs", but it's as if we're the only two people in the room. _

"It was the best night of my life", I tell him and turn my head towards him for a kiss, which he obliges and presses his lips against mine. I've not lived the easiest life, but I've learned a lot and understand that not everything will always be perfect, and that you have to make life what you want it to be. Don't settle, go after what you want. And sitting here with Kendall in this moment confirms that it's not what you do with your life, it's who you do it with.

His slender finger traces the outline of the ring on my finger and says, "I can't wait until you become my wife". He stops for a moment. "Anna Knight. I really like the way that sounds."

"Yeah it does." I stare into those captivating green orbs and say four simple words that hold so much meaning. "I love you, Kendall".

"I love you, too Anna, and nothing's ever going to change that."

**And it's over, I hope you guys enjoyed it! Oh and if you're really jonesin' for good stories to read, you should totally check out the author ****SuperSillyStories**** on this site. She is an incredible writer and her stories are fun to read. I'm totally addicted to them! And if you do read her stuff, don't be afraid to leave a review and let her know how you liked it! Thank you all once again! *takes a bow***


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